Posted on Nov 17, 2014

How Openness Can Lead To Confusion

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When a company lists “Openness” as one of their core values, what comes to mind? You likely consider at least one of the following meanings:

They’re very accommodating.
They’re receptive to feedback from employees and customers.
They’re accessible.

Why?

Because that’s how the value of Openness is defined.

Openness = an accommodating attitude or opinion; receptiveness; or ready accessibility.

However, you likely also considered other aspects to this value.

In my research of values across Fortune 500 companies, I discovered that Openness is viewed from a rather broad basis.

Defining Openness

Consider the following company definitions of this value.

Duke Energy: Openness – We’re open to change and to new ideas from our coworkers, customers and other stakeholders. We explore ways to grow our business and make it better.

–> Duke Energy applies openness to the need for change and new ideas.

Mutual of Omaha: Openness & Trust – We will maintain a diverse and inclusive atmosphere where our associates can be heard, differences can be aired and mutual respect is maintained

–> Mutual of Omaha highlights openness with the need for diversity and inclusiveness.

Dover: High ethical standards, openness, and trust.

–> Dover puts openness in the same bucket as being ethical.

CF Industries: Respect, Openness and Trust – We will treat one another with respect, we will communicate honestly and as openly as possible, and we will seek diverse perspectives and opinions. When we reach decisions, we will execute them as a unified team.
eBay: Be open, honest and direct.

–> CF Industries and eBay use openness to promote respect and open communication.

There’s at least 5 different ways Openness can mean something different:

Change. Diversity. Ethics. Respect. Communication.

In other words, if you ask 5 different employees what the value of Openness means, you’ll likely get 5 different answers. Clearly, Openness is one of those values that has many legs and can be used to imply different meanings

Confusion from Lack of Clarity

While some might view this exercise as various shades of grey, I do not. Values are meant to create clarity, not confusion.

A company’s culture only shines – creating competitive advantage – if it radiates from everyone. But not much can shine if the meanings are muddy.

Imagine the various challenges if a company simply states Openness as a core value without any explanation.

Some managers feel this means the company should promote more current employees internally, while other managers feel it means hiring more ethnically diverse employees from outside.
Some employees feel this means they should show respect for the ideas of others by saying nothing, while others feel this means they should be more direct with their viewpoints.
Some leaders feel this means they can change strategies without notice, while others feel it means more dialogue is needed before any change in order to preserve integrity.

Bottom line: if you’re going to incorporate the value of Openness into your company culture, make sure you clearly define it for everyone. Meanings matter.