Abstract
The word “transparency” has become a staple of current organizational speak and a popular concept for leaders to incorporate into their leadership persona. They attempt to create the perception that information and the rationale for decisions will be clear and openly communicated. The purpose of this paper is to explore the apparent fallacy of leadership transparency. That is, that often times, the more the word transparency is used by leaders in an organization, the less actual transparency there is. The paper explores the allure of Leadership transparency and offers reasons why the fallacy occurs. In this context, the role of overkill, intentions, and power and politics are addressed. The authors describe what a transparent organization looks like and provide recommendations for leaders. As a part of this research, the authors’ next step is in developing a means of measuring transparency. The intent is to create a Transparency Index; A scale and assessment of an organization’s level of leadership transparency.
Recommended Citation
Johnson, Jay and Maddox, Jim
(2015)
"The Fallacy of Leadership Transparency,"
Journal of the North American Management Society: Vol. 9:
No.
1, Article 4.
Available at:
https://thekeep.eiu.edu/jnams/vol9/iss1/4