The term ‘Transparency’ is being thrown around a lot these days largely in part to a push by the federal government to require more visibility into the way taxpayer monies are being spent. This concept has been around for awhile and cuts across the political spectrum. The ‘Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006’ was passed under the Bush administration and there is a strong provision for transparency reporting outlined in the 'American Recovery and Reinvestment Act' (ARRA) of 2009 passed under the Obama administration.
It is understandable that politicians are sensitive about the topic. The global economic downturn has been cast as systemic mismanagement (many would say greed or even corruption) at seemingly countless public and private institutions. It seems that people around the globe have turned more decidedly more skeptical of leaders of all organizations and undoubtedly expect better in the years to come.
Since a significant portion of many organizational budgets are spent on project related initiatives, even incremental improvements in large project/portfolio performance and fiscal disciple can mean millions in annual savings for these entities. For public organizations this means better usage of taxpayer dollars; for private companies, it means more value creation for shareholders.
The concept of transparency is simple: provide relevant and timely information to key decision makers and stakeholders. This affords the decision makers the opportunity to take corrective action on wayward initiatives sooner (i.e. before it's too late) and provides stakeholders the information necessary to hold them accountable if they do not.
Though the concept is simple, the solution is obviously not. Differences in the way organizations manage information, people, and technology means that the problem is multi-faceted and requires an organizational (sometimes a multi-organizational) approach. In my next blog on this topic, I’ll discuss typical problems that we see and a methodology that can be employed to building solutions.
Yes, the world has changed and it’s time that we hold all organizations to a higher standard. Those of us in leadership roles should embrace this challenge as a positive development that can improve confidence in, and stability of, the global economy. Now that, my friends, is most certainly a challenge worth undertaking.
Read Part 2 - Organizational Disconnect here