Transparency: How Leaders Create a Culture of Candour

By Warren Bennis, Daniel Goleman and James O’Toole 
Published by Jossey-Bass, July 08

In a time when the reputation of an organisation or a leader can be shattered by the click of a mouse, transparency is often a matter of survival in a world of global competition. But as stakeholders in different organisations increasingly clamour for transparency, what are they truly asking for? What is the promise of transparency? What are its very real risks? And why is it essential that leaders understand it? In Transparency: How Leaders Create a Culture of Candour, powerhouse leadership trio Warren Bennis, Daniel Goleman, and James O'Toole explore what it means to be a transparent leader, create a transparent organisation, and live in an ever more transparent world culture.

In this brief and timely work, the authors look at what conspires against a "culture of candour" in organisations, with disastrous results, and suggest ways that leaders can achieve healthy honesty and openness. In three separate essays, the authors explore the lightning rod concept of "transparency" which has fast become the buzzword not only in business and corporate settings but in government and the social sector. The book starts with a preface by Warren Bennis, followed by three essays entitled:

• Creating a Culture of Candour
• Speaking Truth to Power
• The New Transparency

Each interconnected essay, examines transparency from three different vantage points—within and between organisations, in terms of personal responsibility, and finally, in the context of the new digital reality—all with an emphasis on how these relate to leaders and leadership. The first essay explores an urgent dilemma for every contemporary leader: how to create a culture of candour. The second essay discusses a prerequisite for transparency and a responsibility we too often fail to fulfil. The final essay explores how digital technology is making the entire world more transparent.

Combining theory and experience, this book offers both a long view of transparency and a wealth of practical advice. The ideas in each chapter will make anyone both a better follower and a better leader.

About the authors
Warren Bennis is Distinguished Professor of Business Administration and founding chairman of The Leadership Institute at the University of Southern California. He also serves as chairman of the Advisory Board of the Center for Public Leadership at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government. He is the author or co-author of numerous books, including Judgment and On Becoming a Leader.
Daniel Goleman authored the best-selling books Emotional Intelligence and Primal Leadership. He is co-director of the Consortium for Research on Emotional Intelligence in Organizations, based at Rutgers University.
James O'Toole is the Daniels Distinguished Professor of Business Ethics at the University of Denver's Daniels College of Business. He is the author of seventeen books, including The Executive's Compass, Creating the Good Life, and Leading Change.

ISBN 978-0-470-27876-5;  Hardback;  £12.99/€15.30

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