Part 3 – What is transparency? The CATT Blueprint
In this third part of what is a five part series, I will explain the importance of Transparency in business and how knowing this will make you more successful.
Some of you may prefer to follow a link to the Facebook Live I created about Transparency. This has a really funny story in it.
What is Transparency?
I belive that Transparency and Authenticity are linked. If you are not letting people see who you really are then you are being like a opaque bathroom window, you’re not being Transparent. It goes without saying that this is also not being Authentic.
Let me tell you a story so you get this with Clarity
All my life, I wanted to have better eyesight so I pretended that I was ‘normal’ (in sight terms only). I used to avoid eye contact fearing that this was the chink in my armour that would enable others to know what deep down I knew.
But here’s a thing. The only person who I was fooling was myself.
Everyone could see my eyes were anything, but ‘normal’. They looked different. Because I had binocular vision (only one eye, the other is false) I could not look at someone and appear to them as if I had eye contact. I also had eyes that oscillated due to Nystagmus.
So, what was it that I was doing that meant I was not being Transparent?
Its simple can you guess? I was wearing a mask as if I were living in a children’s game. I put on this mask and felt comfortable for many years thinking I was being really clever. I wasn’t. I attracted many situations where I would have to admit the painful truth and accept that my severe sight loss did affect who I was, but it did not mean that I had to accept the label that society was determined to give me.
I learned that one did not have to come with the other. I also realised that my practical, problem solving mindset as to how I overcome barriers caused by my sight loss have given me an edge in business. I’m now no longer afraid to be truly honest as to who I am. I do things differently and get better results than many without sight loss. So allowing others to see who you truly are by being Transparent is vital to your business success.
So, are you wearing a mask?
Are you putting on a persona that you think means that others see you as successful in business? Well here’s a thing. If you are and many of you are, you are going to be found out. Worst of all, if your customers find out, you are going to struggle to keep them. Nobody wants to work with someone who is so complicated and impossible to truly connect with. You cannot build Rapport if you are not being the real version of yourself.
What’s next?
That easy, the fourth part of the C.A.T.T. Blueprint – Trust. I trust you, are you starting to feel a little trust towards me. We’ll find out in the next of this five part series.
Chris Catt
Enabled Entrepreneur, its a mindset you might already have it