The past few weeks, one word keeps showing up in my work: Trust. Whether it is a leader who has lost the trust of their colleagues, or a leader whose success is directly tied to the trust they have earned from their team.
What is trust? A value, a skill, or something else? It is what we believe, our values, what we practice through solid leadership skills, what others experience when working with us, and how we make them feel.
These are very uncertain times, especially as AI becomes more prevalent. As a leader, diligently work to sharpen trust.
Worth the share
I was thrilled that trust plays a leading role in this article by Timothy R. Clark, What Employees Need from Leaders in Uncertain Times. He provides a roadmap for CEOs and other leaders on how to successfully navigate turbulent times, such as these, with four practical strategies:
- Create Thick Trust: Feeling grounded in the leader’s values, skills, consistent behaviors, and their forecast for the future. “Predictable in a good way.”
- Inoculate with Vision: Being able to articulate the future in a way that motivates the team. “Vision gives your people something stable to hold on to when things get stormy.”
- Increase Honesty and Transparency: Leaders should never make false promises. The author tells a story about a senior ops manager who led her company out of bankruptcy by leaning into guardianship, holding these truths while remaining personally committed to the team and the work.
- She wouldn’t have all the facts.
- She couldn’t remove all the risk.
- She couldn’t promise zero loss.
- She couldn’t eliminate all the pain.
- Frame Uncertainty as Opportunity: There are countless business case studies to prove out this point, focusing on today’s execution and tomorrow’s innovation. No business can stand still.
Take a minute to read What Employees Need from Leaders in Uncertain Times, I’m sure you’ll learn something to enhance your leadership skills during these turbulent times.
#wisewords
“A team is not a group of people that work together. A team is a group of people that trust each other.”
– Simon Sinek
And Finally...
When reflecting on the emails I’ve written over the years, I realize the subject of trust comes up a lot. Why? In my work coaching senior leaders, trust is critical to effective leadership. I have worked with teams where trust was sorely lacking, and as a result, the teams were completely dysfunctional.
If you want to dig into the subject of trust, read one of these classics: The Speed of Trust by Stephen M.R. Covey, Dare to Lead by Brené Brown, or The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni. If you have a favorite book or article on trust, let me know. I continue to be fascinated by this topic and curious about how to build it effectively.
I have the privilege of coaching a few leaders who lead with humility and have strong, healthy, thriving organizations as a result. Here is my go-to article on Humility. Check it out to learn how you can become more humble.
Have a great week,
Mary Jo