Practicing Radical Transparency in Large System Interventions

Don’t we all fear our demons? And haven’t we all preached facing our fears straight up one time or the other? Where do we go from here?

Towards Radical transparency says, Ray Dalio!

Ray Dalio’s thoughts on Radical transparency and Radical truth have immense potential in the

process of unlearning and growth mindset that drives Leaders of Large systems in the 21^st century. We all know of those unspoken things within Large systems amongst employees, managers and Leaders. Addressing those things that normal people would rather hide -  like the mistakes we make, the failures we face, and the weaknesses we hold as a responsibility to self and others might just turn the whole game of unlearning around.

Why is there a need for Radical transparency? Science suggests that the tendency to get carried away by Confirmation bias – the human tendency to look for things that confirm or validate the biases or opinions we hold is very high. More so because research suggests that 95% of humans think they have very high self-awareness but only a meagre 10-15% of them actually are self-aware. Considering the case of Leader, the higher they transcend in their career and the more power they hold, the higher their negligence towards self-awareness.

When people are confronted with their biases, more often than not they tend to move away from the sources of such feedback. This is because people tend to have very high held opinions about themselves and when they are confronted about their biases, it conflicts with their idea of self and threatens our belief system. The result is a conscious effort to remove the threat from our life. However, a contrasting reaction takes place when people give positive feedback - people tend to get closer to these people quickly.

Making the problem areas transparent, brings them to an acceptable level from where they can be constructively worked upon. Transparency creates a space for trust, with customers, employees and all other stakeholders. The trust factor further determines how a particular entity is found valued.

While Ray Dalio realises that it is difficult for people to get comfortable with the uncomfortable realities, it is also extremely powerful in creating a climate that enables people to raise thoughts about what evidence is at odds with others in our environment without taking it personally. The benefit is large for the self and the organisation. According to Ray Dalio, Radical transparency is a way to build independent thinkers who are okay with disagreeing. In order to create meaningful work and meaningful relationships, independent thinkers who will even go against consensus are important.

Some suggestions from Ray Dalio to activate Radical transparency in Organisations that realise the need to unlearn are:

Agreeing to disagree: Setting up a private agreement with those who interact with you regularly with a mutually agreed motive for development. Two questions guide this conversation – Should I tell you what I really think? and Can you tell me what you really think?

Drawing the lines: Radical means the extreme. But this could also be subjective to the culture that the organisation is in. Most companies set these boundaries at the point of legality. Making sure the organisation is aware of the non-negotiables is important for mutual respect.

Opening up the doors: Let the no-secrets policy flourish as the leaders practise honesty and open sharing. It takes the leaders to have deeper conversations to continuously grow and unleash the new energy into the organisation.