Leading with Trust

“The ability to establish, grow, extend, and restore trust is?the key professional and personal competency of our time.” –?STEPHEN M.R. COVEY

Trust, leadership, and values are three key concepts that shape how people work together and achieve results in organizations. Trust is the belief that others will act in your best interest and meet your expectations. Leadership is the ability to influence others to pursue a common goal. Values are the principles and standards that guide your actions and decisions. Trust is the value in the Leadership.

In this blog post, I will explore the role of trust in leadership, and how leaders can create and maintain trust with their teams and stakeholders. Leadership is not about you. It’s about empowering others with your presence and ensuring that your impact lasts beyond your absence.

Trust is a feeling that emerges when you feel safe in your environment.

The Triangle of Trust

Frances Frei, a Harvard Business School professor, developed the triangle of trust to show how leaders can inspire confidence and loyalty in others. The triangle of trust consists of three core drivers: authenticity, logic, and empathy.

• Authenticity: Being genuine and honest, and showing your true self to others.
• Logic: Having sound judgment and competence and making sense with your actions and decisions.
• Empathy: Caring about others and their interests and showing compassion and understanding.

The triangle of trust is not only relevant for leadership, but also for other domains, such as business, technology, and ethics. Trust is the basis for everything we do, and it depends on being yourself, being smart, and being kind.

To build trust as a leader, you first need to figure out which driver you wobble on and take corrective action.

Trust but verify.

Trust but verify is a phrase that means to have faith in someone or something, but also to confirm their trustworthiness independently. The phrase comes from the Russian proverb. The phrase implies that trust is important, but it also has its limits, especially when the stakes are high. Trust can be enhanced by positive verification or reduced by negative verification.

Feedback Matters to create a culture of trust and learning.

“When you’re surrounded by people who share a passionate commitment around a common purpose, anything is possible.” – HOWARD SCHULTZ

Feedback is a vital skill for effective leadership, as it can influence how people interact and perform in organizations. However, feedback can also be challenging and difficult, as it can trigger emotional reactions and defensive responses. Feedback is important in trust because it can:

• Enhance understanding and alignment.
• Improve performance and learning.
• Strengthen relationships and teamwork.

Trust-Building Habits for Effective Leaders

The behaviors are important to build trust because they show that you are authentic, logical, and empathetic. The behaviors help you to inspire confidence and loyalty in others, and to foster collaboration, innovation, and performance.

• Be transparent: Share information and feedback openly and honestly.
• Be reliable: Follow through on commitments.
• Be respectful: Show respect and dignity to all team members, regardless of their background, role, or opinion. Give credit to others and speak about people as though they are present.
• Be empathetic: Show care and concern for your team members and their interests. Listen and respond with empathy to their issues and challenges.
• Be consistent: Act in alignment with your values and principles. Be predictable and transparent in your behavior and communication. Explain your reasons for any changes.

Unconditional positive regard fosters a positive and supportive relationship between leaders and their teams. When leaders show unconditional positive regard to their team members, they create a safe and trusting environment where people feel valued, respected, and motivated. They also encourage open and honest communication, feedback, and learning.

Your Reflection Exercise for Trust

• What are the 2-3 habits of trust that I want to develop or improve in 2024?
• What is one behavior that I need to change or stop doing to build trust in my organization?

These questions can help you identify your areas of strength and weakness on the three core drivers of trust: authenticity, logic, and empathy. They can also help you create a personal action plan to build or rebuild trust with your team and stakeholders.

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More blogs and talks to Trustworthy Leadership

Everything Starts with Trust ( hbr.org )

Simon Sinek on What is Trust?

Let’s Connect and Collaborate:

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Next newsletter will the last one for the year and I will be talking about building habits.

Until next week…

Warm Regards,

Preethi Guruswamy