Transparent Leadership: A Key to Engaging the Millennial Workforce
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Sparked by the millennial workforce's demand for authenticity and openness, their quest for honest leadership is reshaping corporate integrity. Find out how you can embrace the transformative power of leadership transparency.
The Rising Need for Transparency in Leadership
Thank goodness for Millennials.
Their desire — almost demand — for leaders to be more straight forward and forthright has accelerated the necessity for leaders to adopt transparency as a mainstay in the workplace.
More than one-third of the workforce is made up of millennials, those born between 1981 and 1996.
They tend to reject being kept in the dark about what’s going on — unwilling to invest themselves without knowing the why of things.
This reflects just how much they respect, value, and need transparency.
Addressing the Core Needs of Millennials in the Workplace
As conscious leaders, it is essential that we find ways to proactively meet the core needs of our NextGen workforce to support them in bringing their best foot forward for the benefit of their careers and our companies.
Doing so, we can collectively benefit from the energy, brilliance, and power of the millennial talent pool. Let’s explore how we can become more authentically transparent with our teams, and as a result, far better leaders.
Challenging Old Paradigms: The Millennial Stance on Authenticity and Trust
Millennials will not put up with a lot of bullshit.
They feel less married or locked into any company than prior generations have, and they’re very comfortable, even fearless when it comes to moving on — especially when dissatisfied with their current position or work environment.
Trust is a big issue, as the volume of public outings of greed, corruption, and hidden agendas — in governments and businesses — have made trusting corporate integrity difficult for millennials.
From their view, that we even need whistleblowers says a lot, and seeing whistleblowers being condemned for stepping forward further degrades the potential for trust.
The Demand for Real Transparency and Why It Matters
Millennials are understandably allergic to all the manipulating and machinations that go on in politics and in business, so when we announce that we’re going to do things in a new way, they’ll ask “Why?”.
They won’t accept that it’s because we think it’s better. For them, it’s simple. “What’s the real reason? Just be transparent. We'll follow you if you lead with integrity. If it makes sense to me, for us, I’ll be on board with it.”
The Meaning and Significance of Transparency
At the core of “transparency” is a commitment to embody honesty and openness in our work environments.
Communicating our intent and motives behind various actions is an act of inclusion that helps all employees to feel more in the loop and a part of what’s going on.
Open and transparent communication helps to form a foundation of trust and a collaborative environment.
The more consistently we are open and honest with our teams, the stronger the foundation of trust we build
The Benefits of Leading with Transparency
There are so many ways in which leading with transparency can improve our work environments and organizational performance — with all employees, not just millennials. Just a few of the benefits include:
- Leaders are more open, approachable, and teams feels more connected
- Teams feel safer, allowing for greater innovation and creative solutions
- Leaders are more credible, trustworthy, and teams feel more respected
- A greater sense of inclusion improves morale, collaboration and motivation
Integrating transparency into the way we lead will yield significant positive benefit to our organizations and our enjoyment in leading. It takes focused intent and dedication to transform how we show up with our teams, how we build our workplace culture.
Embracing Vulnerability in the Pursuit of Transparency
Since transparency requires a willingness to be more easily seen, it can bring about a feeling of vulnerability and a bit of fear. If you experience that, it’s best to deal with this fear or vulnerability head on so that you can powerfully and effectively bring transparency into your leadership.
Sure, if we’re not practiced in leading with transparency there can be a learning curve. If there is, keep remembering the benefit to your career and organization are well worth it.
Unleash your Brilliance as a Conscious Leader
It's my mission to support people in leading with unyielding integrity, clarity, and authenticity. If you'd like to tap into your deeper insight and practical wisdom to lead more powerfully and effectively, feel free to reach out at connect@evolvingceo.com to set up a time to connect.
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