Stephen C. Lundin Ph.D.
Bestselling author of FISH!, FISH! Tales and FISH! Sticks

For the last four years I have been the unwitting but willing participant in what may prove to be the largest natural organizational change experiment ever conducted. I call this the FISH! Phenomenon. All over the world men and women have been stimulated by the image of a dozen fish mongers drawing on the old wisdom we call the FISH! Philosophy, to create a workplace so amazing that people flock from around the globe just to experience the energy.

And the response of these unlikely change agents who visit the market in books, films and in person, has been to do things once thought impossible or improbable at best. They have redefined the field of organizational change by provoking massive cultural shifts in hundreds of organizations from the inside out, fueled with natural energy and little else.

While the rules of change and motivation are being rewritten, the role of leadership is also under considerable scrutiny. If large scale changes can be fomented from within an organization, as well as from the top, what does this say about the role of leadership? It is that question that brings me directly to the book you have just started reading.

We have learned that a change which requires individual commitment to succeed can be initiated anywhere in the organization but is only fueled by natural energy. And this natural energy is inspired and maintained by certain kinds of leaders; leaders who practice what Barbara Pagano calls transparent leadership. The transparent leaders are those who build credibility through overwhelming honesty, real vulnerability, fierce conversations, keeping commitments, grace, humility, composure and sincere cheerleading. It is with the support of transparent leaders that we are able to build and sustain a workplace that is both productive and deeply human.

In the rich book that follows, Pagano outlines the elements of transparent leadership, supplies powerful examples for each and then clarifies each element down with behavioral anchors that are immediately useful to anyone who understands you don’t have to be bad to get better at leadership. I strongly endorse this book’s content and its spirit.