CHAPTER 9
TRANSPARENT
There is nothing worse than a leader who is secretive, one who is ‘cagey’. They may think nobody notices but such actions are obvious. People are not blind. They have their senses and can feel when something is not right. At times leaders feel that team members need not know everything –‘a need to know basis’ is the cliché most often used to excuse this behaviour and unfortunately this is not always a good thing to do. It makes the team suspicious, creates doubt and uncertainty. The team begins to wonder why is such action necessary, is there something wrong in the company, or worse still, what have they done wrong, and they start examining all aspects of their various relationships, firstly, with the company and leader and then amongst themselves, and finally, each individual examines their own life searching for a reason to explain what they feel is a lack of trust.
As a part of the team, you begin to question your character and wonder why you are disliked, is there a future for you in the company, does the company want you, is there something wrong with me personally, looks, hygiene intelligence, anything to explain the secretiveness. You begin to wonder if there is not perhaps something at fault with the leader, what has he done wrong, what is he hiding, is he worthy enough to lead, can I put my trust in him? If they do not trust me with this, what else are they hiding from me? What nasty surprise is waiting for me around the corner? Is my head on the chopping block?
A lack of transparency tends to leave one on the defensive, looking for excuses, trying to explain the unexplainable, undermining confidence. People view each other with suspicion, are constantly on nerves edge, always wondering what is going to happen next. In Genesis 18 we read of a time when the Lord wondered if He should share with Abraham what He was about to do:
And the LORD said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do;
(Gen. 18:17)
Did Abraham need to know that Sodom and Gomorrah were about to be destroyed? Could Abraham handle the news and how would he react? Keep in mind that at the time Abraham’s nephew, Lot, was living in Sodom:
Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? (Gen. 18:18)
Abraham was to be trusted to be father of a great nation, to be the founder of God’s chosen people, to be the first in a long line devoted to Him. If God could trust him with this great enterprise then surely he could be trusted with this information:
For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him.
And the LORD said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous; (Gen. 18:19-20)
And the Lord told Abraham what He was about to do and Abraham immediately interceded on behalf of the two cities:
And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked? (Gen. 18:23)
Abraham, although not agreeing with the Lord, was given privileged information. Although he was not able to stave off the destruction of the two cities, the confidence and trust God showed in Abraham helped cement their relationship.
There are times when sharing information can disrupt relations and upset people as happened in Matt. 26 when Jesus shared secret knowledge with His disciples:
Now when the even was come, he sat down with the twelve.
And as they did eat, he said, Verily I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me.
And they were exceeding sorrowful, and began every one of them to say unto him, Lord, is it I?
And he answered and said, He that dippeth his hand with me in the dish, the same shall betray me.
The Son of man goeth as it is written of him: but woe unto that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! it had been good for that man if he had not been born.
Then Judas, which betrayed him, answered and said, Master, is it I? He said unto him, Thou hast said. (Matt. 26:20-25)
Although Jesus by this time knew He could rely on His disciples not to fall apart at the news of a traitor in their midst, there was still much anxiety amongst them. The disciples were worried, disturbed and upset, and the first thing each of them thought was that suspicion fell on himself:
And they began to enquire among themselves, which of them it was that should do this thing. (Luke 22:23)
The betrayer, Judas Iscariot, was shortly to reveal himself but a moment of anxiety was experienced by all. Why would Jesus have done this? By sharing this information with His followers, Jesus brought them together as a group, the crisis of conscience drew them closer to Him because now they felt privileged at having the confidence and trust of their Leader.
The problem faced by most leaders who act in secret, is that sooner or later the secrets will surface and become public knowledge known to all.
David, king of Israel, lusted after Bathsheba, and ordered her husband killed so that he could be with her. Done in secret, it was a sin that would have dire consequences for David’s reign.
And the LORD sent Nathan unto David. And he came unto him, and said unto him, There were two men in one city; the one rich, and the other poor.
The rich man had exceeding many flocks and herds:
But the poor man had nothing, save one little ewe lamb, which he had bought and nourished up: and it grew up together with him, and with his children; it did eat of his own meat, and drank of his own cup, and lay in his bosom, and was unto him as a daughter.
And there came a traveller unto the rich man, and he spared to take of his own flock and of his own herd, to dress for the wayfaring man that was come unto him; but took the poor man's lamb, and dressed it for the man that was come to him.
And David's anger was greatly kindled against the man; and he said to Nathan, As the LORD liveth, the man that hath done this thing shall surely die:
And he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.
And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man. Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul;
And I gave thee thy master's house, and thy master's wives into thy bosom, and gave thee the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that had been too little, I would moreover have given unto thee such and such things.
Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the LORD, to do evil in his sight? thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon.
Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thine house; because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife.
Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house, and I will take thy wives before thine eyes, and give them unto thy neighbour, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of this sun.
For thou didst it secretly: but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun. (2Sam.12:1-12)
All that Nathan prophesied occurred. David’s children committed incest and murdered each other, why not; their father the king could commit murder and adultery. Absalom rebelled against his father, why not; the king rebelled against the law of the Almighty.
Leaders, no matter what their position, are public figures even if your team consists of only one. That is one extra pair of eyes always on you, one pair of hands ready to emulate you.
To his credit, once confronted by Nathan with this sin, David repented, acknowledged his fault, and accepted punishment:
And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the LORD. And Nathan said unto David, The LORD also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die. (2Sam.12:13)
Rom. 2:16 … God will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ…, no secret is truly secret, somewhere someone knows. Cain became jealous and upset with his brother when he saw that the Lord preferred Abel’s offering to his, and one day the two of them were in a field and Cain murdered Abel. Cain thought no-one had seen him but to his dismay he discovered that Someone had seen:
And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground.(Gen.4:10)
For this Cain was cursed and banished to roam unwanted for the rest of his life. It is far better to do things openly with the support of others. All the great leaders of the Bible were transparent in their dealings with their followers. Consultation and discussion, advice and help were the order of the day. Instead of undermining their leadership it brought greater respect, greater trust, and a greater sense of camaraderie.
Abram also tried deception when forced to go to Egypt to escape a famine in Canaan, a deception that was to cost him the friendship and trust of his benefactors.
And there was a famine in the land: and Abram went down into Egypt to sojourn there; for the famine was grievous in the land.
And it came to pass, when he was come near to enter into Egypt, that he said unto Sarai his wife, Behold now, I know that thou art a fair woman to look upon:
Therefore it shall come to pass, when the Egyptians shall see thee, that they shall say, This is his wife: and they will kill me, but they will save thee alive.
Say, I pray thee, thou art my sister: that it may be well with me for thy sake; and my soul shall live because of thee.
And it came to pass, that, when Abram was come into Egypt, the Egyptians beheld the woman that she was very fair.
The princes also of Pharaoh saw her, and commended her before Pharaoh: and the woman was taken into Pharaoh's house.
And he entreated Abram well for her sake: and he had sheep, and oxen, and he asses, and menservants, and maidservants, and she asses, and camels.
And the LORD plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai Abram's wife.
And Pharaoh called Abram, and said, What is this that thou hast done unto me? why didst thou not tell me that she was thy wife?
Why saidst thou, She is my sister? so I might have taken her to me to wife: now therefore behold thy wife, take her, and go thy way.
And Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him: and they sent him away, and his wife, and all that he had.
(Gen. 12:10-20)
Being transparent means you do not have to explain away awkward situations and occurrences.
In the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32) when the son returns, the first thing he says –
And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son. (Luke 15:21)
He acknowledged his faults, without prejudice, accepted blame for what he did without trying to defend his right to do as he pleased. This brought him closer to his father and he received greater blessings.
As leaders we are all vulnerable, all fallible, we make mistakes and through it all we are accountable, but like the Biblical leaders we must acknowledge those mistakes, repent and continue. Hiding your mistakes can only make the matter worse, invariably the cover-up leads to more mistakes, more trouble.
If we expect honesty and trust from our followers, we must be honest and trusting and open and vulnerable in front of them, far from undermining authority it tends to cement it.