By Patricia Thompson, PhD
Senior Consultant, TLG
Seth Godin said, “Earn trust, earn trust, earn trust. Then you can worry about the rest.”
I wholeheartedly agree. Trust is fundamental for effective leadership. When employees trust their leader, they know that the individual is reliable, fair, and a person of integrity. High levels of trust contribute to an environment where people can communicate openly, take calculated risks to innovate, and be their authentic selves in the workplace. Moreover, leaders who are trusted are more likely to inspire, motivate, and engage their teams.
While many beneficial leadership attributes exist, such as vision, decisiveness, drive for results, resilience, and executive presence, trust is paramount. For example, vision provides strategic direction, and presence helps leaders sell their ideas, but both can fall short without trust. Without trust, teams may not embrace the vision, causing execution to suffer. Without trust, executive presence can come across as self-serving schmoozing that demotivates rather than inspires. However, with trust, these qualities are amplified, enabling leaders and their teams to perform at their peak.
To demonstrate trust as a leader:
– Communicate transparently
– Empower your team through appropriate delegation
– Admit when you are wrong; show vulnerability
– Demonstrate integrity
– Be reliable and consistent
In our Leadership Character Model, integrity, a hallmark of trust, forms the foundation of the model. Why? Because it is that important. Make a commitment to cultivate a sense of trust with those around you, to create a positive, motivated, and high-performing environment.