Does Transparency Make You Uncomfortable?
Being faced with glass floors at extreme heights can be terrifying. Now, imagine you’re new to a team or even starting a new career. Naturally, you want to make a strong impression, earn respect, and demonstrate that you have the skills to contribute effectively. You don’t want to seem weak, so you aim to solve problems on your own. But then, you’re in this thing called a Daily Scrum, and the progress on your tasks feels stagnant—some have been “in progress” for half the sprint. The team, not wanting to make you feel bad, doesn’t call attention to your lack of progress. It feels like you’re walking on a glass floor, with no support beneath you. It seems risky to be transparent about not knowing how to solve something.
Seeing Clearly in a Transparent Environment
In some organizations, “transparency” can make things feel unclear. You might feel like you’re staring into a glass building, unable to see what’s happening behind the surface. Sometimes, what appears transparent may hide underlying issues that you don’t even know to ask about. This kind of transparency can resemble modern buildings that look see-through but are filled with hidden layers—elevators, furniture, and people that you can’t see.
I’ve seen teams respond to “How’s it going?” with answers like, “It’s great! We’re on track, and our velocity keeps improving. The team’s happy, and we’re in a steady state.” But what’s missing here? The impact on the end user. Is it because releases happen so infrequently? This kind of “transparency” misses the bigger picture, showing progress internally but without validating the work through actual customer feedback. Does this kind of transparency really work? What could go wrong?
Transparency at Valtree Corporation
What about the transparency you create for yourself, either through how you present yourself to others or how you perceive them? Sometimes we unintentionally blur the view of others—or our own view—due to biases like confirmation bias, commitment bias, anchoring bias, or zero risk bias. It’s also easy to fall into epistemic arrogance, thinking we are always right. Lifting the fog to see things clearly—whether it’s others or ourselves—can be uncomfortable.
True transparency is a system and culture that helps us recognize the value of what we’re producing and identify areas that need improvement. But simply spotting issues isn’t enough. It’s equally important to decide what to do with what we uncover. Without this, why bother with transparency at all? It’s not always natural for humans to be transparent. It leaves us feeling vulnerable and exposed. In an environment with low psychological safety, being transparent becomes even more challenging. Creating a workplace culture that values psychological safety is key to fostering an honest, transparent ethos.
The Cost and Benefit of Transparency
While transparency offers many benefits, it also comes with challenges. In an unsafe and distrustful environment, transparency can trigger anxiety and be risky. To make transparency work, you must first build trust and safety. Once these are in place, transparency can become a competitive advantage, leading to a more open, productive, and supportive work environment.
