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Why Transparency With Your Team Is Critical To Your Startup’s Success
“You’re a mushroom manager,” Peter, one of my peers, said to me years ago.
“What’s a mushroom manager?”
“You feed people shit and you expect something to grow,” Peter said. Then he stormed out of my office.
I had to hold in my laughter. But Peter was right. Back in my younger days I was exactly as Peter described me. I was a mushroom manager.
Fast forward to when I started my company. I was meeting with Doug, an early member of the team who had worked with me years ago.
Doug said to me, “You used to be so different.”
“How so?” I asked.
“You used to be so paranoid. What happened to you?” It was clear from Doug’s tone, he didn’t like how I’d changed.
“I’ve gotten older,” I said to Doug.
You should be transparent with your team despite whatever paranoia you have.
What I didn’t say to Doug was that I am still paranoid. But your need to be transparent trumps your desire to keep things secret.
I told Doug that I made a conscious decision to be as open as possible with our team about everything going on in the company.
