Embracing Transparency

Most companies don’t explicitly state that information should be hoarded, but look closely and you’ll see policies and behaviors that encourage it. Teams lock down their SharePoint or Google Drive folders. Slack channels default to private. Every meeting on the calendar is set to "private," even when there is no reason for secrecy. Information is shared on a need-to-know basis and many leaders are hesitant to share broadly until they have something they are proud of, something that earns them a win.

Why? The motivations vary. Some people fear accountability, or believe limiting information gives them control that can be used to outmaneuver their manager or their peers if necessary. Some want to perfect their ideas before revealing them, a perfectionism that often leads to unnecessary delays. In talent management, ambiguity benefits those who want to control narratives around promotions, credit and recognition. Then there is the often overblown fear of leaks, while the reality is that most internal discussions and work products are far too mundane to be of interest to competitors.

The bottom line is that lack of transparency costs companies a great deal of wasted time and effort. It creates an environment where employees struggle to find the information they need, where they ask the same questions repeatedly in group chats, chase down document permissions and sit through endless meetings just to piece together what’s happening.

Transparency is key to clarity.

The Fear of Transparency

Research indicates that transparency is a key driver of employee engagement and happiness. A study published by the NeuroLeadership Institute found that management transparency significantly improves employee trust and overall job satisfaction. This means that while some leaders may fear transparency, embracing it can actually strengthen the organization rather than weaken it.

Secrecy isn’t just frustrating, it actively harms productivity and engagement. When employees don’t have visibility into the deeper layers of company goals, projects and execution details, they struggle to align their work with the bigger picture. While executives often believe they are sharing goals broadly, beyond the high-level objectives, access to detailed plans, progress updates and decision-making processes remains restricted. The problem isn’t that high level goals aren’t shared, it’s that past a surface level, everything becomes need-to-know.

Not surprisingly, the strongest resistance to transparency often comes from those who benefit the most from secrecy. Leaders who hoard information, control narratives and limit access to decision-making processes are often the same people who benefit from the status quo.

Transparency as a Competitive Advantage

Transparency isn’t just a moral good, it’s a strategic advantage. Open organizations execute faster, adapt more effectively and build stronger trust among employees. Research published in Cognition and Decision Sciences found that organizations that share both common information (widely known facts and shared goals) and unique information (insights or challenges known only to specific teams) experience better decision-making outcomes. When teams have access to both broad company priorities and the specialized knowledge held by different groups, they can make more informed, effective choices, avoiding blind spots caused by siloed thinking.

Transparency in Practice

Transparency has the biggest impact when applied to two critical areas: goals (strategy) and projects (execution).

While executives may feel they spend a great deal of time communicating priorities, employees need more context to be effective - the reasoning behind strategic shifts, how progress is being measured and the key discussions shaping next steps. The more employees can see and understand, the better they can contribute in a meaningful way. When companies embrace transparency in goal-setting, alignment happens naturally because everyone has access to both the vision and the execution details that bring it to life.

Execution suffers when teams operate in silos. Without transparency, teams become reluctant to take dependencies on one another, fearing delays or misalignment. This lack of trust leads to duplicated efforts, wasted resources and projects that should have been collaborative turning into parallel but redundant initiatives. When teams don’t have real, genuine visibility into what others are working on (which creates accountability), they default to solving problems independently rather than building on each other’s work.

Transparency in project execution means openly sharing status updates, blockers and progress in a way that is accessible beyond the immediate team. Instead of limiting information to a predefined list of stakeholders, companies should ensure that documentation, discussions and decisions are broadly available to anyone who may need the context, even if their need wasn’t anticipated at the outset. The more visibility teams have into ongoing work, the less duplication, misalignment and confusion occur. Work gets done faster and teams feel more connected to the company’s success.

Additionally, research published in Frontiers in Psychology shows that perceived organizational politics reduces employee engagement and trust, while transparency helps mitigate these effects, allowing teams to collaborate more openly and productively.

Transparency also plays a crucial role in talent management. Transparency in career progression, performance feedback and recognition fosters trust between managers and employees. When expectations are clear and feedback is openly shared, employees are more engaged and motivated to grow.

Embrace Transparency, Reap the Rewards

Transparency is a cultural best practice, one that is helped or hindered by the tools the company leverages. Clarity Forge helps companies embrace transparency in a plethora of ways, from how goals and projects are shared to proactive AI assistance. In addition to helping people find information when they need it, Clarity Forge works proactively to ensure that the right context reaches the right people at the right time.

Organizations that embrace transparency don’t just work better, they work smarter. Studies consistently show that transparent communication enhances trust, improves decision-making and reduces the harmful effects of workplace politics. By making information accessible, companies can align teams more effectively and unlock their full potential.

The companies that win aren’t the ones hoarding information; they’re the ones sharing it most effectively.

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Our mission is to empower organizations by fostering cultures of clarity and transparency, engagement and collaboration. Through innovative tools, best practices and partnership with leaders, we strive to unlock the competitive advantages inherent in healthy organizations.