I have been fortunate in my career to work with fantastic leaders. Leaders who inspire, support and learn from their teams. One factor central to their success is trust.
In his book, On Becoming a Leader, Warren Bennis describes four characteristics displayed by leaders that generate and sustain trust. To achieve trust you must show:
Constancy – Share direction and decisions, provide steady, clear guidance – a no surprises approach.
Congruity – Actions speak louder than words. At all times, be consistent with what you say.
Reliability– Show up to support and back your team at times of crises or when projects or people become ‘stuck’.
Integrity – Honour commitments and promises. Always.
When leaders, managers, and colleagues are trusted, people are more engaged, motivated and loyal to the business and, in general, that translates to higher productivity and innovation, less turnover and conflict – in short, an environment of trust creates a great place to work.
Whether you are a CEO, a manager or a colleague, you can help to create a collaborative, safe and fun environment by keeping those 4 characteristics at the forefront of your mind in all your interactions with others.
If you would like help to create an environment of trust within your organisation, would like to explore how you and/or your teams can move towards shared trust, then call us. We can help through coaching, leadership development and by helping you ensure your “way we do it round here” has trust at its heart.
