Transparency
In an earlier post, we discussed the three goals we have for our employees: autonomy, mastery, and purpose. To help create a foundation and guide employees down this path, there are several key ideas and guidelines we encourage. Legacy Metovians take what they have learned and found to be beneficial in their own successes, strip it down to the basics, and offer it to the newbs.
Asking our employees to be transparent doesn’t mean they should wear a bad poker face, have skin like the elderly, or wear saran wrap. It does mean we encourage honesty and openness both with our customers and ourselves. Being transparent means having the ability to show what you’ve done, are doing, and will do to your co-workers, superiors, and customers.
Where Have You Been?
Showing what you’ve completed allows your work to be evaluated. Getting this feedback is important in opening a channel of communication. Mistakes need to be discussed and learned from so that you can become more masterful. Compliments give a feeling of completion and purpose.
Where Are You Going?
Being able to show a roadmap of where you are headed next is crucial. What else must be done to complete the project? How do you plan on achieving those goals? Without the ability to show what direction the project is taking, you may as well be making it up as you go. Having foresight into what lies ahead gives both you and your customer time to prepare. For example, if you need new design assets for the next set of features, your customer would appreciate knowing this ahead of time. The last thing you want is an unhappy customer whose project is held up because of your poor planning and communication.
What Are You Doing?
It’s more than just being nosy, Metova wants to make sure you are on the right track. Just like a teacher, we’ve seen your past work and want to give you the help you need to reach your goals. In math class, just getting the answer wasn’t good enough, you had to show your work. Just getting a feature to function isn’t all there is to being a developer. Metova wants to ensure best practices are used and unit tests are run. If steps are being skipped, was it intentional or was there a misunderstanding? Even a perfect developer can find a use for transparency in what they are doing. Showing that you know not only the answer to the math problem, but also how you accomplished it is a display of strength and confidence.
We’re Just Getting Started
Being transparent builds trust. It opens lines for communication that will improve your work as well as your relationship with your coworkers and clients. Transparency is just the first stage. Transparency allows you to be accountable for your actions. With accountability comes responsibility. You can start making commitments. Being able to be responsible enough to make commitments and be held accountable for those commitments is the key to autonomy.
