“The modern leader is the one that shows the problem to solve and not the one who explains how to solve the problem.”
We live in a world of contrasts. It's a world where people want both “more” and at the same time “less” from their workplace, a world where employees want more empathy from their leaders and fewer communication barriers. It’s a world in which individuals value their data privacy. Yet, they want as much transparency as possible when it comes to how management conducts business.
In one of their articles, Forbes talks about the impressive changes within organizations that occur when leaders are transparent. They illustrate how important it is for all employees to be aware of the company’s strategy and roadmap. Moreover, they explain how this approach sparks foresight and alignment for everyone. Studies show that 92% of employees would be more engaged in their assignments if their leaders would transparently share their goals.
Can you point to the reason behind this huge number? Simply put, people who have an idea about the motives behind their tasks feel that they have a purpose. In other words, knowing the end goal increases the sense of belonging and productivity.
Now, the good news is that leaders worldwide, have started to realize that their employees want more than just transparency of what’s important to the business. They have understood that in order to inspire employees and increase engagement even further, they need to address a more profound matter - employee happines.
As a matter of fact, if we look at the search trends, we can see that the interest in ‘happiness at work’ has increased and turned into a constant concern during the last years. It has become such a ‘thing’ that, each year, there’s a whole week dedicated to this topic.
And this is great. This trend signals that organizations realize that the well-being of their employees is vital for a business's success.
However, we strongly believe that using employee engagement tools that turn individuals into statistics and numbers is not the answer. We think that leaders need to know precisely how Jane or David feels. Because regardless of how you put it, you simply can’t consider people as being digits on a dashboard.
Furthermore, we want you to take the time and also look at the other part of the story - the level of transparency your employees show. Because let’s face it. In the end, honesty as a tenet of your organizational culture is a two-way street.
At the end of the day, what matters is that all parties involved are happy and engaged. But how can a leader determine who’s having problems and who is more than satisfied with their position? How can they address these difficulties adequately if they don’t have all the data? And more importantly, how can they find solutions if their employees don’t take responsibility in responding truthfully when asked how they feel about their job? Well, not with ease.
That’s why, at Hapkey, we like to do things transparently. We like to help managers know exactly who needs assistance and why helping them connect the dots and really bond with their employees. We like to promote honest and trustworthy collaborations. Moreover, we like to ease any junior’s path to communicate their frustrations to their top management and do it weekly.
So to wrap things up, we will address every party involved in organizations worldwide and say the following - transparency is the key to a long-lasting and successful collaboration. However, we want to highlight the fact that it’s not just the manager’s job to increase the happiness of their department. Yes, as an employee, you can’t ask for honesty if you are not willing to offer it yourself. Furthermore, by being transparent with the data on what's causing unhappiness, each individual puts a brick in the wall, sparking the team to brainstorm ways to address current issues.
Last but not least, we want to ask you to take the time and talk to one another. Only by doing so will you manage to healthily and fruitfully connect with all parties involved in your team. And that is the first step toward promoting a happy work environment. Because, in the end, the modern leader is the one that shows the problem to solve and not the one who explains how to solve the problem.
