Attract & Repel; It's a Great Thing!

Because of this, it’s more important than ever to be transparent – to be open, frank and candid.

Whether you are dealing with someone in a personal relationship or in a business relationship, transparency gives you a glimpse not only into who they really are, but also who they really aren’t. I think this is really great, because who someone isn’t is just as important as who they are.

To give you an example, I personally try to focus on what people are great at versus what they’re not great at. If I know someone on my team is really good at “X”, I’m going to try to harness their energy towards that, rather than try to force them to be great at something they’re not.

Transparency is so important in any role in life. Whether you’re trying to find a life partner, finding a role within a company, trying to lead a company, or simply trying to work with people in general, the level of your transparency will either attract or repel people.

Look at Steve Jobs, for example. He knew what he wanted and he went after it, and he was up front, candid and honest about who he was along the way. Because of this he had a following of people who believed in him, believed in why he did the things he did, and believed in his vision for a better future.

My goal in life is to embrace who I am and who I’m not. As such, I attract the people who love me for who I am and accept me for who I’m not.

At Roma Moulding, we are blessed to have customers (partners) who believe in who we are! They believe in our core values, our products, and are extremely loyal to the brand. And then of course there are those people who are not. But that’s okay! In my opinion this is a true sign of success. It means that somewhere along the way, we stood for something we believed in. When it comes to finding partners, in anything, you have to be up front about who you are, and if it doesn’t work for everyone, so be it! That’s a common theme for me. The more you know who you are and put it out there, the more the universe will send you what you attract versus what you detract. So the more we can refine who we are the more we will attract the right partners!

We try our best to be as transparent as possible in our business. I truly think all businesses should! If you are having a challenge envisioning this, here are some tips that helped, and continue to help, us build transparent communication:

• Remove your office walls and have an open environment
• Allow your people to have a voice and a say in decision-making, some sort of open feedback model or suggestion box
• Host town hall meetings, or an All Hands Meeting, and live stream it to the world
• Host weekly leadership meetings
• Leaders are prompt in addressing the company when something happens
• Welcome and goodbye emails broadcasted to all team members
• Ditch the HR role and make it more welcoming
• Display KPI boards so other teams can see results good or bad
• Be visible and available
• Go out of your way to interact with all employees and teams
• Treat your teammates like adults
• Always lead by example

Transparency is so important to us at Roma that one of our 10 core values is dedicated to it.

Roma Moulding Core Value #9 – Deliver transparent, open and honest communication.

Don’t get me wrong, sometimes you can’t be totally transparent. Not because you don’t want to, but because you may be bound by rules and laws, or you may be protecting an individual. But the bottom line is, it’s so important to be as transparent as you can because people know anyway. You can’t hide things. And that is why the best brands in the world are trying their best to show exactly who they are, and that is something beautiful.

So ask yourself, on a scale of 1 to 10, where would you rate your transparency in your team? How often do you address your company? How quick are announcements made after something occurs? Do you allow feedback? Are there structures in place for people to give feedback?

Finally, it’s important to remember that “transparency and authenticity build a trusting relationship in which people are more likely to bring their full creativity, commitment, and motivation to work. The way you treat your employees will be mirrored in the way your employees treat your customers. Treat your employees poorly and they’ll pass that treatment along to your customers.” (via Forbes)

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