Building Trust Through Transparent Note Sharing

I still remember the moment I read GiveDirectly's blog post openly admitting they'd been defrauded by members of their team in Uganda. 🤯 Most organizations would bury this information. They highlighted it. They shared exactly what happened, their investigation process, and the changes they made to prevent future errors. Instead of hiding their mistake, they leaned into transparency. Studies consistently show that strategic vulnerability builds more trust than projecting perfection. We're wired to trust people and organizations that show their humanity. We all instinctively know that nothing is perfect. The key is giving your flaws the right context. Pair it with a strength - what will you learn? Where will you go from here? 🔑 Effective transparency looks like: → Sharing real-time impact alongside setbacks → Revealing your finances in digestible ways → Creating spaces for honest conversations with stakeholders → Publishing external reviews (even mixed ones) → Empowering beneficiaries to tell their unfiltered stories In the nonprofit world, where donor skepticism runs high, authenticity is your most powerful asset. So, how is GiveDirectly doing in the decade since revealing this setback? Find out on the fully transparent financials page of their website: https://lnkd.in/emVYqvsR

Here's how a simple strategy accelerated Sahan Journal's growth. It wasn't just about having a great idea. It wasn't about crafting a detailed business plan. And it wasn't about creating an attractive product. Yes, these elements are important, but they're not the main drivers of growth. The secret to our growth was consistent, transparent communication with our strongest supporters and stakeholders. Here's how I did it: • Building connections: Initially, my focus was on building and deepening relationships. I added contact information of people I knew or met—friends, program officers, major donors, and industry leaders—to my Gmail contacts list. • Monthly updates: I sent monthly updates to these contacts for the first few years. I shared our progress, highlighted successes and challenges, and always included a call to action. This intensive approach quickly boosted Sahan's visibility in the philanthropic and journalism circles, resulting in increased funding opportunities. • Adapting to growth: As my personal and professional responsibilities grew, I adjusted the frequency of updates from monthly to bi-monthly, then quarterly. My commitment to communication never wavered. I even began repurposing board reports for broader stakeholder updates, keeping everyone informed. Why is this approach so important? Your stakeholders believe in your vision and want to see it become a reality. They're invested in your success. Regularly updating them builds trust, generates excitement, and ultimately fuels your organization's growth. It shows you value their support and invites them to be active partners in your journey. Without their support, an idea remains just that. But with open and transparent communication, it can blossom into something amazing. As a startup or nonprofit leader, neglecting to send regular updates to stakeholders can hinder your organization's potential. In future posts, I'll dive deeper into the art of crafting impactful updates and share some real-world examples. Stay tuned. * * * Found this useful? Please share it with your network 🔁 and follow me, Mukhtar M. Ibrahim, for more content like this. Become part of our growing community.

As someone who’s hyperallergic to even the smallest traces of egg, food labels are my lifeline. They help me make informed choices and stay safe, to say the least. Similarly, in the world of AI, understanding its “ingredients” is just as crucial to avoid unintended risks. Transparency Notes act as the "labels" of AI. Just like food labels, they empower users with critical information to make responsible decisions and mitigate risks. Let’s dive into Microsoft’s approach to Transparency Notes. 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐲 𝐍𝐨𝐭𝐞? As early as 2019, Microsoft started providing Transparency Notes for its AI platform services. These documents give users a clear understanding of how to use AI responsibly by offering detailed, consistent information. To date, Microsoft has published 33 Transparency Notes. Each Transparency Note covers three critical areas: ✅ Capabilities: What the AI service is designed to do. ✅ Limitations: Where the AI might fall short or produce unexpected outcomes. ✅ Intended Uses: The specific scenarios for which the service is optimized. 𝐄𝐱𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐬: 𝐀𝐳𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐎𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐀𝐈 𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐲 𝐍𝐨𝐭𝐞 ✅ Capabilities: Enables tasks like natural language generation, summarization, sentiment analysis, and conversational AI. ✅ Limitations: May generate incorrect, biased, or harmful outputs if not properly configured or monitored. ✅ Intended Uses: Ideal for chatbots, content summarization, and writing assistance. Not recommended for high-stakes applications like fully automated decision-making. 𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐚 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐲 𝐍𝐨𝐭𝐞? Transparency Notes provide significant benefits: 🎯 Empowering Customers: Helping users understand functionality, risks, and applications for informed decision-making. 🎯 Building Trust: Demonstrating openness about AI strengths and limitations fosters confidence. 🎯 Encouraging Responsible Use: Clearly defining boundaries to prevent misuse and promote ethical deployment. 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐲 𝐍𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐬 As AI evolved, Microsoft extended transparency efforts beyond Transparency Notes. They introduced: ✅ Responsible AI FAQs: Explaining risks, limitations, and mitigation strategies. ✅ In-product notices: Informing users they are interacting with an AI system. ✅ Citations for AI content: Allowing users to verify information through source links. For example, Bing Copilot integrates FAQs, notices, and citations to ensure users can trust and verify its responses, making transparency accessible for everyone—including non-developers. Transparency in AI is key to building trust and empowering users. What steps do you think organizations should take to make AI even more transparent? #GenerativeAI #ResponsibleAI Day 26 of 30

"𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐩 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐧𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐦. 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐩 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐯𝐮𝐥𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲. 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐲 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐞" This was the worst advice I ever received as a founder. And if I had followed it, we wouldn’t be where we are today. Back in 2015, when we were still figuring things out, we believed in one simple principle—𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐲 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐬 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭. We were open with our team about our numbers, challenges, and even vulnerabilities. But many seasoned founders at the time told us: "𝘐𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘷𝘦, 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘱 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘯𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮." "𝘋𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘨𝘨𝘭𝘦𝘴—𝘪𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘬." "𝘚𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘴𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳." "𝘋𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘴𝘵—𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺’𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦." We were shocked. And honestly, it hurt to be judged like that. But we followed our gut. 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐈’𝐦 𝐬𝐨 𝐠𝐥𝐚𝐝 𝐰𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐝. Instead of hiding and restricting, we shared our challenges and educated our team on business impact. The result? 💡 A team that thinks like owners, not employees. 💡 Developers who build with business context, not just code. 💡 Sales teams that sell what can actually be delivered. 💡 A culture where people feel valued, not used. 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭? 𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐮𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐚𝐝𝐦𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞. Not every piece of advice—deserves to be followed. Trust your instincts. Build the company you’d love to work at. And your people would fall in love with. #Entrepreneurship #Leadership #Transparency #Startup