At the Collaborative Real Estate Summit, I outlined six leadership traits that have shaped my career. In earlier articles, I wrote about persistence, authenticity, and continuous improvement. Now I want to turn to the next principle, one that creates trust, strengthens culture, and inspires people to follow with both heart and mind: transparency.
What Transparency Looks Like in Practice
I’ve always believed in hiring smart, capable people and then letting them show you what they can do. General Patton once said, “Don’t tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and let them surprise you with the results.”
That’s leadership through trust, and it starts with transparency.
There are two forms of transparency that I’ve seen shape organizations: physical transparency and communication transparency. At my previous firm, SEI, where I worked for many years, executives sat on the floor with the teams, no-one had offices.. At first, I thought I’d hate it, but being out in the open gave me a front-row seat to what was really happening in the business every day. It allowed me to see what was working and what wasn’t. That openness was just a physical interpretation of transparency.
When I came to PPR, I carried that lesson forward. Even though we’ve since moved into a modern office with walls, every wall and door is glass, and my door stays open 90% of the day. It’s a reminder that leaders should be available, not hidden away. A closed door communicates more than you think.
Communicating With Candor
The second form of transparency is how you communicate. At PPR, we hold all-hands meetings every week. We talk openly about how the business is doing, what problems we’re facing, and where we need to improve. Employees can ask anything, and we promise to answer with honesty and respect.
I’ll never forget one meeting at SEI where an employee asked how I felt about making so much money when some entry-level staff couldn’t afford to move out of their parents’ homes. It would have been easy to dodge the question, but instead I answered from the heart. I shared my first-year salary back in 1992and how proud I was to have built a 25+ year career at a company that gave me the opportunity to grow and allow me to challenge myself.
That moment of candor could have deflated the room. Instead, it motivated the team as it showed how anyone could build a successful career and grow personally through taking advantage of opportunities. Transparency doesn’t weaken culture, but instead, it strengthens it.
Openness Isn’t Just Internal
But openness doesn’t stop at internal communication with your team. It’s just as critical when dealing with investors. Just like Jeff Bezos and Steve Jobs did at Amazon and Apple, at PPR, we also have a relentless focus on the customer. We start by listening to our investors, understand what they truly want, and build from there. I want our team to be “client obsessive” in all that we do.
The future of any successful business lies in its ability to foster open, honest dialogue at every level. The next great idea could come from anyone, at any time—but only if you create an environment that encourages people to speak up, collaborate, and challenge the status quo. No idea is a bad idea.
True leadership isn’t about commanding from the top—it’s about building a culture where every voice matters. If you have that, you have the foundation for success.
A Challenge to You
The next time you’re faced with a hard question, resist the urge to deflect or close the door. Answer with candor. Show people you’re willing to be open, even when it’s uncomfortable. That kind of transparency doesn’t just win mere compliance; it wins trust and commitment and that is what creates lasting impact.
