Why Transparency Fans the Flames of Purpose

Transparency, as it pertains to behavior, implies openness, communication, and accountability. It says “I trust you and I valu...

February 14, 2019
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How would you describe your job to a five year old?
What season would you be?
What is a weird food you have tried? Would you eat it again?
What is your favorite holiday tradition?
Would you go in the mother-ship with aliens if they landed on Earth tomorrow?
What is your favorite season?
Do prefer working from home or the office?
What is your earliest memory of this job?
What is the best thing you have bought so far this year?
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If you had to move to another country, which one would you choose?
You are the best criminal mastermind in the world. What crime would you commit if you knew you would get away with it?
What is your favorite movie genre to watch?
What was the last thing you ate?
What person from history would you add to Mount Rushmore?
What is a weird fact you know?
What is your favorite part of working from home?
Were the Spice Girls a good team?
Imagine you can instantly learn any language. Which would you choose?
If you could live in any state, which state would you pick?
Which fictional team is the best team of all time?
What did you want to be when you grew up?
What do you usually eat for a quick lunch?
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Show us the weirdest thing you have in the room with you right now.
Would you rather stay at a hotel or an AirBNB?
What is your favorite movie genre to watch?
Are you more productive in the morning or at night?
Who is someone in your community that makes a difference?
Who was your most unique pet?
Choose one famous person from history you want on your team during a zombie apocalypse.
What is a good way to give back to the community?
Which song could you listen to over and over again?
Is Hugh Grant funny?
What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast?
Would you want to have an imaginary friend today? Did you have one as a child?
What actor or actress would you want to play you in the movie about your life?
What is the best super power?
What is your New Years resolution?
You can only eat one food again for the rest of your life. What is it?
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Would you rather join Metallica or Backstreet Boys?
What is the best example of a community you have seen?
What is an easy way to do something nice for someone?
Show us your phone background and tell the story behind why you picked this image.
What was your first job?
Pick any band to play at your funeral.
If you could have an unlimited supply of one thing for the rest of your life, what would you pick?
Which superpower would you give to your arch enemy?
What is the most obscure superpower you would want?
What emoji best describes how you are feeling right now?
If you could live in any country, which country would you pick?
Would you rather live in a city or a town?
What is your favorite holiday?
What is something you accomplished as part of a team?
What is your standard office lunch?
What is your most used phone app?
What is your favorite season?
Have you ever won something as a team?
Imagine you are a professional baseball player. What is your introduction song?
Beach holiday or ski trip?
Have you ever been to a funny comedy show?
Would you rather live at the North Pole or the South Pole?
What is your favorite song to sing?
If you could live in any state, which state would you pick?
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What is the most unusual job you have heard of?
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You can visit any fictional time or place. Which would you pick?
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What movie defined your generation?
You are stranded on a remote desert island. Are you alone or with your worst enemy?
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Have you ever told someone Santa is not real?
Do you know how to speak more than one language?
On a scale of 1 – 10, how much of a team player are you?
What is your #1 recommendation in this city?
What is your favorite holiday?
What bucket list item do you most want to check off in the next six months?
What is your favorite mythical creature?
What was the first way you made money?
If you could be great at any Olympic sport, which would it be?
Which song could you listen to over and over again?
When did you start liking/hating mushrooms?
Where is your favorite vacation spot?
Do you take your PTO all at one time, or another way?
Which show do you remember most from your childhood?
Which beverage goes best with pizza?
Would you want to have a personal assistant follow you around everywhere and do what you asked of them?
Have you ever met your idol?
What did you want to be when you grew up?
Would you rather live 100 years in the past or 100 years in the future?
What is your hobby?
When you are alone in the car, what volume is the music at?
Imagine you no longer have to work. How would you spend a Tuesday?
What is your favorite type of sandwich?

Transparency, as it pertains to behavior, implies openness, communication, and accountability.

It says “I trust you and I value your opinion.” Now let’s swap “I” with “the company” for organizational and business purposes.

The company trusts you and the company values your opinion. Any employee met with this is going to feel their role is important, valued and critical to the bottom line. And it is.

If you want a culture that lends itself to bringing out every employee’s best efforts you need to be fully transparent of the companies goals and it’s abilities to get there.

Employees now more than ever crave meaning and purpose in their work lives as much as they do in their personal. They want the two to be intertwined and harmonious. They want to feel valued, trusted and challenged. It is in a company’s best interest to grant that craving and fan the flame of their employees’ purpose.

Employees need to be asking:

  • Where are we headed?
  • Why?
  • Who am I doing this with?
  • How are we going to get there?
  • And what part do I have to play in all of this?

If employees are asking these questions and the company is answering them with full transparency you’re ahead of the game and on the way to a winning culture and company.

Take Netflix for example as an extreme case. Spill numbers. Spill strategy. Spill the vision. Spill the goals. Patty Mccord, the woman who built Netflix’s culture encouraged her employees at Netflix to listen in on the earnings reports and read over the P&Ls. She knew that making employees privy to C-Suite knowledge bolsters trust and value. It aligns everyone. It says we trust you, this is where we’re at and this is where we want to go. How are you going to help us get there?

“Earn trust, earn trust, earn trust. Then you can worry about the rest.” – Seth Godin You’re probably wondering how to infuse transparency in the workplace? It’s easy. Start sharing. Start communicating. Start trusting. Just like any good personal relationship, a strong business relationship involves all of these. If that new marketing campaign leading up to that webinar didn’t do well, say it and talk about it. Figure out together how to do it better next time. If Q2 isn’t meeting expectations, talk about it. Express the failure and embrace the process of getting it done better next time. Trust your co-workers with individual and teamwork issues and be transparent about the results. That’s going to drive optimal workshop sessions and encourage everyone to bring their two cents to the table and figure out the best solutions. Now go into the office tomorrow and start practicing transparency and start reaping the benefits of trust, loyalty, and harmony amongst your colleagues. Fan their purpose.

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