leadingtoday.org
Leadership Tip of the Month
February
2002
Copyright 2002 ă weLEAD, Inc.
Leadership
and Trust
Trust is the glue that makes effective
leadership possible. The American Heritage Dictionary defines trust as a “firm
reliance on the integrity, ability, or character of a person or thing.” Another
definition given is “the condition and
resulting obligation of having confidence placed in another.” Without this bond
of trust present in a culture, leadership is replaced by mere formal
autocratic power. The head of one nation in our present world controls his
people with so little trust that he regularly executes his closest generals and
replaces them with a new generation of subordinates. They only survive until he
feels suspicious of their loyalty or talents. Thankfully this is an extreme
example but it reveals a dysfunctional environment permeated by mistrust.
Coworkers initially give trust to a leader as
deference to their role or position. However, this is not always true if other
leaders or individuals they trusted have manipulated the followers in the past!
The fact is that a leader must build trust within the group and continually
rebuild this essential quality. It is a mistake to take it for granted. How can
a leader build trust? Here are a few points to ponder…
Be
truthful – This may seem obvious but unfortunately
many leaders forget the importance of this quality. Being untruthful may work
for a while but eventually others will lose respect for you. Both trust and
truth are built upon the same ethical foundation of integrity. You must be perceived as someone
who tells the truth even if it is sometimes difficult to express. Most individuals will be more accepting of
learning something they “don’t want
to hear” from you than finding out
you lied to them! This includes you being considered fair and
objective towards others in difficult situations.
Be open –
Keep people informed as to what you are thinking. Ask for their
input and explain the rationale behind your decisions. Mistrust often comes
from what people don’t know more than from what they do know. If others
perceive or learn that you are hiding information from them, you will be
branded as deceitful and secretive. Be candid about problems and disclose relevant
information you have. If asked to reveal information you hold in confidence
about another, it is best to say you cannot violate a confidence rather than
deny or lie about the knowledge you have. Obviously there is a need to balance being
“open” in contrast to being told things in confidence by others. When you are
being told things in confidence about other people or situations you must
maintain careful discretion with this information. Remember that others make
themselves vulnerable by providing this information to you. They need to feel
confident that you will not discuss it with others and betray their trust in
you.
Be a promise keeper – Others listen to you more carefully than you realize.
When you make a promise, other coworkers need to see you are dependable. As the
old saying goes, “promises made must be promises kept”. To maintain trust you
must keep your word and your promises. What about the rare
situation where due to unforeseen circumstances the original promise you made cannot be kept?
Don’t simply ignore the original promise or pretend you never made it!
Acknowledge you made the promise, explain why you are unable to keep it at this
time, and offer to fulfill it when the right time or situation allows.
Trust includes being consistent about the way you act and maintaining
predictable behavior rather than irrational behavior.
Be sensitive –
Showing others you care and expressing mature emotions helps to build trust.
If you present only hard facts you will come across to others as aloof and cold. Respect
for you will increase when people see you are a real person and have human
sensitivities toward their needs.
Be competent –
People naturally respect competent individuals. Demonstrate your technical and
professional skills and you will earn the admiration of others as
a leader. Be sure to develop your interpersonal and communication skills.
Coworkers feel good about working with competent, caring people and are more
apt to trust them.
For weLEAD, this is Greg Thomas
reminding you that it was Peter Block who wrote, “Trust comes out of the experience of pursuing what is true.”
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