[August 06, 2014] The demands made on military commanders are awesome; yet little is provided in the way of guidance. Commanders that make rapid, sound decisions are highly valued and promoted quickly to higher levels of responsibility. The problem is that decisions made rapidly often encounter resistance in application. Regardless whether the decision is the best or not, how and why the decision was made might not have been answered. Those who carry out decisions have a need to know more about how and why a decision was made. This is why transparency in decision-making is so vital to the leader.
Transparency provides everyone with the understanding to carry out the mission. Transparency also adds to the leader’s credibility. Keeping processes open and available to anyone in the organization means that a healthy work climate is more likely. Workers are more apt to perform work tasks to standard and be happier. Transparency is a form of communication and, of course, communication is the key to great leadership. Making decisions without input, belonging to secretive associations, and purposeful hiding and confusing the inputs needed for a decision, will lead to problems in execution. Accountability, for example, will be lost in the clutter of the fog of business.
There is always a place for secrets, especially in military operations against the enemy. Yet, how and why decisions are made should be explained to the fullest possible level to those who carry out those decisions. Having a boss who keeps information “close-hold” and is unwilling to share the thinking that goes into why things are done, will eventually lead to people abandoning the organization’s mission.
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Good Habits #1: Never Assume Anything: https://www.theleadermaker.com/good-habits-1-never-assume-anything/
Good Habits #2: Walk Around and Talk with People: https://www.theleadermaker.com/good-habits-2-walk-around-talk-people/
Good Habits #3: Read Mission-Related Material: https://www.theleadermaker.com/good-habits-3-read-mission-related-material/
Good Habits #4: Take the Initiative: https://www.theleadermaker.com/good-habits-4-take-the-initiative/
Good Habits #5: Effective Use of Time: https://www.theleadermaker.com/good-habits-5-effective-use-of-time/
Good Habits #6: Show the Human Side: https://www.theleadermaker.com/good-habits-6-show-the-human-side/
Good Habits #7: Speak Properly: https://www.theleadermaker.com/good-habits-7-speak-properly/