Guest post by Paul Sean Hill

Creating and leading high-performing teams in any setting requires a high-trust environment.  A critical component in creating and keeping that trust is complete transparency across the team.  Having seen the empowering effect of this simple notion, I regularly reminded my direct-reports that the expectation was, “All cards are face-up on the table for the full team, in every decision and on every topic.”

I first learned the value of this kind of full transparency during my years working in the Mission Control Room while operating Space Shuttles and the International Space Station.  Everyone on the team reviewed every report, procedure, and mission-related communication of any kind between Mission Control and the astronauts.

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