My desk has a tape dispenser that holds two rolls of transparent tape. Each roll serves a purpose; one contains permanent tape while the other contains removable tape. When in doubt, I opt for the removable tape.

The word “transparent” started buzzing around in the early days of the Obama administration. Transparency continues to appear in the media and most recently in FEMA e-mails, YouTube videos and Twitter posts. President Obama supports and believes that transparency will bring accountability, responsibility and — hopefully — public trust to the federal government.

After signing into law the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 on Feb. 13, the administration launched Recovery.gov for citizens to track the distribution of stimulus money and to demonstrate the transparency that the new administration hopes to attain. The private sector countered with Recovery.com in its own attempt at transparency, so that citizens can track where the government money is really being spent.

Transparency within the corporate world always has fascinated me, as openness can change with styles of management. While one manager openly distributes financial reports, another guards them religiously. It reminds me of the '60s, when Catholics were told they couldn't read the bible because only the clergy could understand it, yet fellow Christians could recite chapter and verse. Who could you trust?

Chief Tom Carr left Montgomery County, Md., to become the chief in Charleston., S.C., after a very publicized and controversial process. The transition from a very controlling, dominant management style to an open, progressive, empowering style can be quite a radical change for any staff. Introducing this change can be like going from permanent tape to removable tape; it tears and rips when pulled up, but the new stuff allows flexibility, trust and confidence to develop.

Several months into his new position, Carr decided to appoint three assistant fire chiefs, one for each shift. The department never had a competitive process before, and members welcomed the concept of introducing specific qualifications and requirements for candidates, as well as introducing an assessment center process with outside evaluators — until the department announced the results. One of the appointees is a carryover from the former regime and some department personnel, as well as some outsiders, fumed at the selection.

When I spoke with Carr about the controversy, he explained in detail the selection process and the outside evaluators' perspective and stood behind his appointments, all of whom are in a probationary period.

Upon arrival, Carr introduced an open-door policy. While many chiefs claim to have an open door, there's a difference between an open door to an open mind and an open door to a closed mind.

Carr is a listener and visionary. He knew that taking the job in Charleston would not be a quick, easy turnaround, especially with so many firefighters still hurting from years of neglect and, particularly, still grieving the loss of nine fellow firefighters in the fatal sofa store fire of June 2007.

Carr believes the three assistant chiefs are competent, yet are going to have to learn his leadership style. Many people have learned Carr's management style and grown with his mentoring and leadership. “They [the department] are really great and hungry for leadership,” he said. “We have our bumps, but we'll run through it.”

The transition from the traditional Theory X management style to the empowering Theory Y style can be difficult. Whether it's the federal government, a corporation or a fire department, people don't like change. When a transition from a closed to open leadership style occurs, trust is the intangible barrier. Openness encourages creativity over coloring inside the lines.

Transparency, the permanent kind, requires trust and accuracy — and it's not for the weak of heart.

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