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Business - Why Trust and Leadership go hand in hand
| Title : "Why Trust and Leadership go hand in hand".Business We all know that one of the key qualities in a leader is trustworthiness. If you are a leader, why do you need people to trust you? To lead, according to the Collins English Dictionary, means to guide, conduct, persuade and direct. Can you guide and direct someone if they do not trust you? Have you ever done that team building exercise where you are blindfolded and someone has to tell you where to walk through an obstacle course? That exercise is about trust, and I can tell you, if you don’t trust the person, you make sure you can peek under the blindfold just to be sure. But what about in business. If you are leading a team through a project, or you are the CEO, you need your ‘team’ to trust you enough to follow your lead. If you want to really move and you are expecting high performance from your team, you can’t afford for them to be baulking and peeking under the blindfold at every step. How do you know if they trust you? Here are some examples: oYou will have a team of people who buy into your vision and goals and willingly work with you to achieve them oSome people in your team may question your guidance – this is good if it is inquisitive and they are seeking information to carry out your instructions. If they don’t trust you, they probably wouldn’t approach you in the first place oPeople in the team will be proactive and want to help lead oThe team will want regular updates from you to see that they are tracking well against the vision and goals – verification is good and helps maintain trust, as long as it is positive and not ‘peeking’ How can you make sure you are a trusted leader? To be a trusted leader you need to be able to: oCreate a set of standards of excellence and then set an example for others to follow – you need credibility oSet a plan of action, with small steps so that people can begin to trust themselves and trust your vision – you need to build trust brick by brick oInspire with your dreams and vision, but have a plan for how, together, you are going to get there – you need to manage expectations oTake calculated risks and accept there will be some failures – don’t over-promise that everything will be perfect oEmpower others to lead, knowing what is expected – you need to keep managing expectations oReward and recognise efforts and contributions towards the end goal – you need to meet the fundamental need of all people Ultimately, leadership is about relationships, and no relationship can last without trust. All the best Vanessa Hall Vist my website about building trusted relationships at from www.entente.com.au |
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