Building Trust, A Key To Leadership

Without trust societies are surely doomed for failure. The Absence of trust means no matter how well educated, diverse, or prepared a team may be, they will never achieve the quality of success a group made up of members with fraction of the talent but would die for each other could get, I know that’s a little extreme but you get my point.

How A Leader Gains Trust
Great leaders are great not because of their position but rather the fact people respect and trust them; it has nothing to do with their power, actually when a leader must rely on his power frequently it is often a sign they will not be in that position much longer. There are a few traits a leader must show their tribe before they grant the respect and trust needed to become a great leader. I broke these down in the following four traits.

·            First Capability, leaders must show their tribe they are capable of doing the job, this is easy if the leader is truly aligned with the tribe’s vision. Knowledge and capability are a byproduct of passion, when the leader is truly on fire and on board with the organizations mission he will surely be capable or learn very quickly if not.

·            Second is integrity, does the leader follow through with their promises, do they walk the walk? Nothing kills morale in a tribe more than a hypocritical leader.

·            Third is Caring, if a leader begins to treat their tribe members like interchangeable parts the company will soon erode from the bottom out. Great leader know it is the members that make the tribe great, no matter how loud they yell they will never get the same results they could have from a tribe of inspired members. Take care of your people and they will take care of you.

·            Finally Reliability, Great leaders know how important it is to keep the small promises, to often leaders make the mistake of just paying attention to what they deem “is a big deal” but after falling through on the small things time and time again they soon lose credibility and are deemed no longer reliable. Even worse, whatever trait a leader exhibits often spreads to the members of the tribe, soon you have an organization of members who cannot follow through on the small stuff which will also result in overall failure.

The Trust Killer!
A leader is the head of the tribe, and the biggest mistake someone appointing a leader could do is place a leader who is not 110% congruent to the tribes Why or Vision. Education, resume, or any other qualification will not matter if the leader is not bought in and believes what the tribe stands for. You cannot fake excitement or enthusiasm and tribe members will catch on quickly and realize you are a non-sincere leader.

Question:

What are traits you notice in leaders that build and breakdown your trust? Do you think a leader can do their job and get the mission done with minimal trust from the people they lead?

“See You At The Top”

Tom McConnell

Owner Mental Giants Nutrition

TomMcConnell@mentalgiantsnutrition.com

As always a video by Eddie Pinero. Check out his website YourWorldWithin, you won't be disappointed.