All too often leaders assume that their people should receive information on a need to know basis, and most of them don’t need to know. However, if your people don’t know where you are going, how will they know what direction to move to get you there? And, if you have the right people on your team, they can probably provide insight and innovation that will get you where you want to go faster than you can push the organization. Move faster through transparency.
Transparency of your plan to the team is one element that I see in organizations that are experiencing growth, low employee turnover, and a positive work environment. This doesn’t need to be to the extreme of opening your accounting books to your employees, but at a minimum they need to know where you have your sights set and how you plan to get there. If you don’t know where you are going, that’s an even bigger problem. If you don’t have a plan, you’re not just going nowhere, you’ll soon be surpassed by everyone else.
At every opportunity, communicate where you are today, where you are heading, and what it will take to get there. Communication is the foundation for all relationships and it is also the glue that holds any organization together. You cannot be transparent about your intentions unless they are communicated, and your team may not understand your intentions unless they can ask questions for clarification. Remember, effective communication goes both directions.
If you have not been transparent in the past it may take time before your team really understands your vision, but you will experience accelerated forward motion when they align their goals and objectives with yours.
James Reynolds leads the Northern Colorado operations for Barrett Business Services, Inc. (BBSI). BBSI (NASDAQ:BBSI) is a leading provider of business management solutions, combining human resource and strategic management consulting to create a unique operational platform that is unlike any other in the market. This platform helps clients leverage their investment in human capital; bring predictability to their organization; and enables business owners to focus on their core business by reducing organizational complexity and maximizing productivity. The insights gained through their own growth, along with the trends they see in working with more than 6,000 companies each day across 22 states, define their approach to guiding business owners through the challenges associated with being an employer. BBSI’s business teams align with each business owner client to focus on the objectives of each business owner and deliver planning, guidance and resources in support of those objectives.
This article was published in the August 2019 edition of Colorado Insurance News (COIN). To view more articles and read the whole COIN, click here.
Recent Comments