Trust – You are Not Truly a Leader Without It!

Trust – You are Not Truly a Leader Without It!

As a leader, people will not follow until they trust you. It’s really very simple. That is the golden rule of leadership … end of story. And trust can be a fleeting thing, so making it a daily focus is key.

Excerpted from the book 212 Degrees of Leadership, by Mac Anderson:

Leaders lead by example, whether they intend to or not. What example did you set today? When you lead by example, you engage your people to follow your vision...not by words, but by action. While you are measuring your employees' performance, they are measuring how well you follow through on both your words and your deeds.

Think leading by example is only for top management? Think again. Whatever your position in your organization, the way you do your job ... and the attitude with which you do it ... determines the impact that you have.

That's the power of a living example. It can make those around you "step up their game,"...sometimes long after you are gone.



Jeff Gitomer, author of the Little Book of Leadership said it best, "Your people are a direct reflection of you. They watch you. They follow you. They measure you. They listen to you. If you want them to be dedicated to you, you have to be dedicated to them."



Through your words, actions and deeds, you set the foundation for building an environment of trust and respect.

Trust is the key to both managing people and building a high performance company. It is the foundation on which relationships are built. According to Tom Peters, "Technique and technology are important. But adding trust is the issue of the decade." Peters suggests that managers must take a "high-tech and high-trust" approach; putting the issue of trust at the top of the agenda and treating it like a "hard issue, not a soft issue." If employees feel you don't trust them to do their jobs correctly and well, they'll be reluctant to do much without your approval. On the other hand, when they feel trusted that you believe they'll do the right things well, they'll naturally want to do things to the best of their ability and be deserving of your trust.

In On Becoming a Leader, Warren Bennis outlines the four ingredients for leaders to generate and sustain trust:

1. Constancy. Whatever surprises leaders themselves may face, they don't create any for the group. Leaders stay the course.

2. Congruity. Leaders walk their talk. In true leaders, there is no gap between the theories they espouse and the life they practice.

3. Reliability. Leaders are there when it counts; they are ready to support their co-workers in the moments that matter.

4. Integrity. Leaders honor their commitments and promises.

While corporate scandals, terrorist threats, office politics, and broken relationships have created low trust on almost every front, I contend that the ability to establish, grow, extend, and restore trust is not only vital to our personal and interpersonal well-being, it is the key leadership competency of the new global economy.

I am also convinced in every situation, nothing is as fast as the speed of trust.

Mac Anderson does a great job of defining what, in my mind, is the most critical attribute of a leader – trust. Leading by example is an awesome form of trust building. Did you ever hear the quote “I can’t hear what you are saying because your actions are screaming at me.”

Enough said. I love it.

Lead by example and trust will follow. That has been my experience in almost 20 years of being a leader and being in the company of leaders. Trust me!

Thanks and until next time, Go Ahead, Dare to be Amazing!