Transparency

A highly readable work that exposes the biggest challenge in leadership

In this short and timely book, the authors-a powerhouse trio in the field of leadership-look at what conspires against "a culture of candor" in organizations to create disastrous results, and suggest ways that leaders can achieve healthy and honest openness. They 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 as well.

Together Bennis, Goleman, and O'Toole explore why the containment of truth is the dearest held value of far too many organizations and suggest practical ways that organizations, their leaders, their members, and their boards can achieve openness. After years of dedicating themselves to research and theory, at first separately, and now jointly, these three leadership giants reveal the multifaceted importance of candor and show what promotes transparency and what hinders it. They describe how leaders often stymie the flow of information and the structural impediments that keep information from getting where it needs to go. This vital resource is written for any organization-business, government, and nonprofit-that must achieve a culture of candor, truth, and transparency.

Warren Bennis (Santa Monica, CA) is University Professor of Business Administration and Founding Chairman of The Leadership Institute at the University of Southern California. He is the author of numerous classic books, including On Becoming a Leader (978-0-738-20817-6). Daniel Goleman (Williamsberg, MA) is the author of the bestselling books, Emotional Intelligence (978-0-553-38371-3) and Primal Leadership (978-1-578-51486-1). He was awarded the American Psychological Association's Career Achievement Award and is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. James O'Toole (Malibu, CA) is Chairman, Business Ethics, at Denver University. He formerly ran the Aspen Institute. O'Toole is the author of 14 books on leadership, individual growth and development in the workplace, corporate culture, and philosophy, including Leading Change (978-0-345-40254-7).