Trust is the bedrock of leadership.\u00a0 While there are many other important aspects of sound leadership, trust is foundational.\u00a0 Without it, nothing else matters.\u00a0 Regardless of how charismatic a leader may be, without trust, he or she will have no followers.\u00a0 And the reality is this: trust is very fragile.\u00a0 It must be carefully built and nutured, yet one false step can seriously damage or even destroy it.\u00a0 There may be a few of us who give our trust freely until that trust is violated, but for most of us, it\u2019s the other way around . . . we withhold our trust until it is earned.\u00a0 So how does a leader earn that trust?\u00a0 Please read below.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe task of the leader is to get his people from where they are to where they have not been.\u201d
\n–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Henry Kissinger<\/p>\n
Consider a quote from another thought leader, Stephen Covey.\u00a0 \u201cTrust is the glue of life.\u00a0 It\u2019s the most essential ingredient in effective communication.\u00a0 It\u2019s the foundational principle that holds all relationships.\u201d\u00a0 So we put Kissinger and Covey together, and we see that without the \u201cglue\u201d that binds leaders to followers, a leader cannot get his people \u201cfrom where they are to where they have not been.\u201d\u00a0 In short, the leader can\u2019t do his or her job.<\/p>\n
OK then, what does it take to develop this \u201cglue?\u201d\u00a0 Here are some thoughts.<\/p>\n
\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Keep your motives pure.\u00a0 When you pursue something that benefits the entire group, you strengthen the glue . . . self-serving motives weaken it.
\n\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cDo as I say, not as I do,\u201d has never been a good leadership practice, nor is it here.\u00a0 To build trust, you need to do more than talk the talk.\u00a0 Lead by example.
\n\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Be true to your word, consistently.\u00a0 Do what you say you\u2019re going to do, when you say you\u2019re going to do it, always.
\n\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Trust is a 2-way street.\u00a0 Your people won\u2019t trust you unless you demonstrate that you trust them too.
\n\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Learn to be a good listener.\u00a0 Don\u2019t dismiss other people\u2019s ideas out-of-hand.\u00a0 People will be more willing to follow your ideas if they know their ideas have been heard and considered.
\n\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Give it time.\u00a0 If you believe that trust has to be earned, then don\u2019t expect full commitment based on a single promise kept.\u00a0 Your people will want to know that you\u2019re not a one-trick pony . . . that you deliver on your promises consistently over time.
\n\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Don\u2019t shift blame.\u00a0 If you screw something up (and we all do), own it.\u00a0 When you admit to failures or mistakes, you strengthen the trust \u201cglue\u201d because you show up as authentic, not as a phoney.<\/p>\n
And one more thing.\u00a0 According to business guru Tom Peters, \u201cLeaders don\u2019t create followers, they create more leaders.\u201d\u00a0 Don\u2019t assume this is just about you getting your direct reports to follow you.\u00a0 Insist that your people practice these behaviors with their people and on down the line until your whole organization is practicing these behaviors.<\/p>\n
The bullet points above are not intended to be a comprehensive list of everything you need to do to engender trust, but they are the most impactful.\u00a0 Faithfully adopting these behaviors will go a long way toward guaranteeing your success as a leader.\u00a0 Ignoring them will surely guarantee your failure.<\/p>\n
If you feel the need to strengthen trust within your organization but don\u2019t know where to start, call me.\u00a0 We should talk.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Trust is the bedrock of leadership.\u00a0 While there are many other important aspects of sound leadership, trust is foundational.\u00a0 Without it, nothing else matters.\u00a0 Regardless of how charismatic a leader may be, without trust, he or she will have no followers.\u00a0 And the reality is this: trust is very fragile.\u00a0 It must be carefully built<\/p>\n