Encouraging Transparency In Leadership

One thing NBA players and founders have in common: we fail in public. A bad game for me happens in front of 20,000 people. My stats live online. Every mistake gets replayed. There's no hiding how I'm doing at my job. Founders experience the same thing. A product launch that flops, a missed quarter, or a pivot that doesn't work. It's all visible to investors, employees, customers, and the internet. Most people don't operate like this. They can struggle quietly. Adjust privately. Learn without an audience. But when your failures are public, you can't hide from your weaknesses. The data is right there. You can't tell yourself it wasn't that bad. Everyone already saw it. You're forced to confront blind spots faster than you'd ever choose to. It's uncomfortable. Sometimes humiliating. But it builds something. Call it exposure tolerance. The ability to get embarrassed and still show up tomorrow. The feedback loop is relentless. You learn faster because you can't avoid reality. You stop telling yourself stories, because either way the tape is shown next practice in front of all your teammates. That's why I connect with founders. Not because we share the same skills or backgrounds, but because we understand what it feels like to be exposed, judged openly, and still show up the next day. Public failure accelerates growth. But only if you stay in the arena long enough to learn from it.

"I only tell my boss the risks when I’m 100% sure, otherwise I’d rather keep quiet” - a manager recently told me during a workshop: Other managers started nodding - highly relatable. This is what psychology calls the MUM effect - Minimizing Unpleasant Messages coined by Rosen & Tesser (1970). It’s the deeply human tendency to avoid delivering bad news or to soften it until the truth is barely visible. - We do it to protect ourselves from blame. - We do it to protect others from discomfort. - And in the moment, silence feels safer than honesty. But here’s the cost: - Leaders make decisions without critical information. - Teams repeat the same mistakes. - Opportunities get lost. But here’s the paradox: what feels safe for the individual is unsafe for the team. Neuroscience explains why: when we prepare to share uncomfortable truths, the amygdala - the brain’s threat detection system - activates. It interprets honesty as danger: the risk of rejection, conflict, or loss of status. So silence feels like self-protection. How can leaders mitigate this effect? 👉 1. Redefine what “good” means in your team Say explicitly: “Being good here means raising risks early, even if you’re not 100% sure.” 👉 2. Reward the messenger, not just the message Thank people for speaking up, regardless of whether the risk turns out real. This rewires the brain to see honesty as safe. 👉 3. Ask better questions Replace “Any questions?” with “What’s the toughest risk we might be overlooking?” or “What would you challenge if you were in my seat?” ✨ This is exactly what I work on with leadership teams in my Safe Challenger program and workshops, helping leaders unlearn compliance-based leadership and build cultures of courage. Because the biggest risk in teams isn’t mistakes. It’s silence. P.S.: What’s do you think is harder: speaking up with uncomfortable truths or hearing them?

30 mins before a crucial steering committee meeting, our team realized that a key analysis was based on the wrong data set, potentially impacting all the decisions we were about to propose. The consultant leading that workstream understandably started to panic. We braced ourselves for the worst, envisioning a career-crushing feedback storm. We approached our partner, explained the situation honestly, and fully expected the sky to fall. Instead, he listened calmly, as if nothing happened. At the meeting, our partner explained to the CEO that some analyses and decisions would need to wait and that the team needs to run the analysis again, explaining to the client CEO that we wouldn't compromise on the foundation of our recommendations. The outcome? No one got fired, no one got yelled at. In fact, the client CEO appreciated our commitment to quality over speed and our upfront communication. They respected our honesty! You don’t learn these lessons unless you experience it live: people value honesty and owning your mistakes. All this happens only with great leadership: someone who fosters a safe space for open communication and prioritizes getting things right over deadlines. #Leadership #Mindset #Mistakeshappen #Communication #Learnings ------------------- I write regularly on People | Leadership | Financial services | Sustainability. Follow Surya Sharma

Failing Is Good. Sharing Failure Is Great—Here’s Why (and the Difference) There’s a saying in leadership: “Fail fast, learn fast.” It’s useful, but here’s a more brutal truth I see every day as an executive coach—failing is good, but sharing your failure? That’s where greatness lives. Why? Because when you keep your setbacks to yourself, you learn and (hopefully) adapt. Good leaders do this all the time: they make mistakes, reflect quietly, and get a little bit better. But great leaders zoom out. They turn their tough moments—botched launches, missed deals, the uncomfortable conversations—into teachable stories for their teams. They debrief openly, admit what went sideways, and let others in on the real lessons. That’s not just transparency—it’s leadership with leverage. It shifts a culture from “hiding shortcomings” to “shared growth.” From my coaching chair, here’s what I see: → Teams led by “silent learners” improve slowly and in silos. → Teams led by “story-sharers” (even the humble, unpolished ones) build trust and adapt at light speed. My best work isn’t about helping leaders hide their failures. It’s helping them find language, timing, and confidence to share it: “Let’s dissect this together. Here’s what I missed, what I learned, and what I want us all to watch for next time.” The difference? Good leaders bounce back. Great leaders multiply learning. If you want to unlock not just your own growth but your entire team’s potential, start here: → Normalize quick, safe failure debriefs after every big project. → Model vulnerability. Admit you miss first. → Ask your people: “What would you do differently?”—and listen, really listen. → Set the expectation: we’re here to share learnings, not to get it perfect the first time. In leadership, it’s not how you fall that changes your culture; it's how you respond. It’s who learns—and how many—from how you get back up. Coaching can help; let's chat. Enjoy this? ♻️ Repost it to your network and follow Joshua Miller for more tips on coaching, leadership, career + mindset. #executivecoaching #leadership #professionaldevelopment #growthmindset #careeradvice #learning #success

Everyone is facing challenges right now. At the core, what we all want is to feel secure, supported, and capable of moving forward. The reality is, many are still navigating challenges: → Teams strained by constant change and uncertainty → Leaders juggling impossible priorities with limited resources → Employees grappling with burnout and the pressure to perform Here’s what people truly need: 1. Clarity of Purpose: People need leaders to articulate the “why” behind actions and decisions, especially in uncertainty, so teams can focus on what truly matters. 2. Psychological Safety: Leaders must create an environment where team members feel safe to speak up, share ideas, and express concerns without fear of judgment or retaliation. 3. Support for Vulnerability: Encouraging openness, admitting mistakes, and modeling vulnerability helps teams navigate challenges together. 4. Shared Accountability: Leaders need to ensure that responsibility is shared, not just top-down, so the team feels collectively committed to results. 5. Guidance in Conflict: Leaders should coach teams to embrace constructive conflict and ask the hard questions (“What’s not being said?”) rather than avoiding tension. 6. Consistency and Presence: In hard times, people need leaders who are visible, engaged, and steady, providing reassurance through consistent actions. 7. Empowerment for Growth: Leaders should continue to invest in people’s development, even under pressure, showing that growth and learning remain priorities. 8. Trust in the Team: People need leaders who trust them to make decisions and take ownership, rather than micromanaging during crises. 9. Transparent Communication: Sharing as much information as possible, even if imperfect, helps people understand the reality of the situation and reduces fear of the unknown. 10. Commitment to Co-Elevation: Leaders must demonstrate that even in hard times, the team’s success and growth matter as much as individual goals, lifting each other up together. This is the kind of leadership that makes a real difference.

If You Have Never Failed, You Have Never Really Led. Every leader faces moments that break the script.   Colleagues who resist.  Projects that collapse.  Crises that shake confidence.   And yes, failure that stings. But failure is where leadership truly begins. Steve Jobs was fired from Apple and returned years later to build it into the world’s most valuable company. Elon Musk came close to losing Tesla and SpaceX more than once. Those moments became the turning points that pushed him to think bigger. Failure is not a detour. It is the classroom where leaders are forged. → It forces you to stop, reflect, and find smarter solutions. → It exposes blind spots you could not see when everything was going well. → It builds resilience that no theory can teach. → It opens the door to honest feedback that sharpens your vision. The best leaders I know are not the ones who avoid failure. They are the ones who turn every setback into fuel for growth. The question is not whether you will fail. It is whether you will use it to become the leader your team actually needs.

The first rule I was taught in business? Something that came back to haunt me. Let me explain. Growing up, I was told: Keep business information close to the chest. The belief was: If employees knew too much… revenue, challenges, what’s really going on… they might use it against you. That’s the mindset I saw modeled. So at first, I followed it. The result? ❌ Team members felt like outsiders, not owners ❌ Trust eroded each time something surfaced indirectly ❌ Morale dropped (it’s hard to stay motivated when you don’t know what you’re working toward) ❌ It slowed us down (more questions, more confusion) ❌ It created silos (departments focused on surviving, not collaborating) I knew something was broken, but didn’t know how to fix it. Until… a hero came along. I hired Sean to replace me as CEO. And one of his first decisions was something I was feeling in my heart all along. That we need to lead with transparency. So we did a full 180. Now, once a quarter, we host an all-hands meeting where we share everything… no sugarcoating. ✔️ Revenue growth (or decline) ✔️ Viewer stats and content performance ✔️ What’s working ✔️ What’s broken ✔️ New bets we’re making (and the ones we’re letting go of) Yesterday, we opened the books and laid it all out for nearly 100 team members in person and 100+ tuning in remotely. The wins, the losses, all of it. The new result? Transparency has done something that secrecy never could: It’s built trust. Ownership. Alignment. What I’ve come to learn is, when everyone knows the scoreboard: They don’t just clock in… they lean in. The old way was fear-based. This way? It’s mission-based. And in today’s world, that makes all the difference.

"Won't such transparency create problems?" This was the question posed to me by a leadership team years ago when I proposed publishing our annual increment process in detail – from performance ratings to its linkage the increment % to market corrections. The organization had never done this before, nor had they heard of others being so open. But my rationale was simple: if we're confident that our compensation practices are fair, objective, and the best we can do within our constraints, why hide them? We only hide things we're unsure of or lack authenticity in. This argument resonated. We went ahead and published the entire process, and the results were remarkable: ✅ Zero compensation grievances that year. ✅ Engagement scores on trust and transparency soared to all-time highs. ✅ The organization has continued this practice for over a decade. Transparency isn't just about openness; it's about building trust. When employees understand the 'why' behind decisions, it fosters a sense of fairness and respect. How do you drive trust and transparency in your organization? I'm eager to hear your thoughts and experiences. Feel free to connect if you'd like to explore how to implement similar practices in your workplace! #transparency #trust #compensation #HR #leadership #employeengagement #organizationalculture

Very often, people dream of being part of a community or building a community to help each other and get help from each other. In my experience, great communities are built on these core principles. Most people join a community only expecting something from others not giving. Giving, being transparent and focusing on others interest is the beginning of a great community behavior. Below are five points I consider as important for a start 1. Setting Expectations: The Clarity Protocol Define, don't assume: Clearly articulate shared goals and boundaries upfront to eliminate the ambiguity where mistrust breeds. Transparency is safety: openly communicate limitations and roadmaps; members trust leaders who are honest about what they cannot do as much as what they can. 2. Giving and Taking: The Law of Reciprocity Contribute before consuming: Establish a culture where members offer value—knowledge, support, or resources—before asking for favors. Balance the ledger: specific, public appreciation for contributors creates a cycle of generosity that prevents the community from feeling transactional. 3. Commitments: The Reliability Standard Under-promise and over-deliver: Treat every casual agreement as a binding contract; consistency in small matters proves you can handle big crises. Own the failure: If a commitment is missed, immediate accountability rebuilds trust faster than a valid excuse ever could. 4. Community Over Self: The Stewardship Mindset Serve the mission, not the ego: Decisions must be visibly aligned with the collective good, even when it inconveniences individual leaders or influential members. Sacrifice signals sincerity: When leadership takes a hit to protect the group, it creates an unshakeable bond of loyalty among members. 5. Acting First: The Initiative Catalyst Model the behavior you seek: Do not wait for permission or consensus to do the right thing; be the first to be vulnerable, the first to help, and the first to listen. Courage is contagious: When you act without guaranteeing a return, you signal that the environment is safe, encouraging others to lower their defenses and participate.