Approximate reading time: 1.5 minutes
“The struggle to liberate people from bad leadership begins by making information available.”
This recent comment by Khainga O’Okwemba treasurer of George Soros’s Open Society Institute was speaking in the context of Kenya’s political corruption. But his point applies equally to organisations and their leadership.
His quote reminds us yet again of the critical part that transparency plays in producing effective leaders.
In our recent report on Talent Management at the Crossroads we indirectly found interesting views about transparency amongst the top performing companies and particularly in respect of Generation Y. Gen Y said one of our top performers “feels empowered to ask the right questions” and for them transparency is often a way of life, not a mere cultural quirk.
Axa for example reported that Gen Y had made a profound influence on its strategies and it had consequently shifted its communication approach to meet the needs of this group.
The “fearlessness and sense of confidence amongst Gen Y” which another of our top performers mentioned, means that they will not easily tolerate some of the secrecy and silo mentality that prevails in many organisations. No wonder that in some case Gen Y is seen as difficult to manage!
While transparency is a powerful force in its impact on leadership and organisations we need to be aware of its limitations. It is no panacea and things can still go seriously awry even with considerable transparency.
For example in early 2008 The Wall Street journal ran an article about how Lehman’s Chief Financial Officer was a model of being proactive and highly communicative externally. She was “frank and fashionable” it burbled and continued “she is creating value by reducing the market’s perception of the risks at Lehman.”
To quash fears that Lehman could face the same kind of liquidity squeeze as Bear then being acquired by J.P. Morgan Chase & Co, the CFO had hundreds of face-to-face meetings and phone calls with investors and trading partners. “She aggressively roots out rumours, even while pushing her bosses to disclose more financial information.”
Despite all her efforts though, less than six months later the 158-year-old brokerage firm filed for bankruptcy.
See also Transparency is Not a Luxury
www.maynardleigh.co.uk
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