Trust - A Competitive Advantage

Fish by Doc McIntyre

There are two types of leaders:

• The Give-a-man-a-fish types who FEAR not being needed... and eagerly make decisions and do work on behalf of their people.
• The Teach-a-man-to-fish types who RELISH not being needed... and actively develop and defer to their people.

Decide which leader you want to be.

Hint: Fish Givers usually end up complaining about not having enough time for their own work.

Recently I was on a podcast and was asked “what is one leadership principle that has helped your career?” A great question, but it’s a hard one. There are so many leadership principles that are important, but on the spot, I chose trust. I believe that trust in an organization is a competitive advantage. If I know that my team has my back and if I stumble or make a mistake, they will pick me up. And they know when they stumble, I will pick them up, there is an organizational confidence that comes from that trust. If we approach each other from a place of “assuming noble intent”, meaning I assume everyone on my team is giving all they can give. If something goes off the rails, it isn’t because my teammate is a dipstick, it’s because something happened despite my teammate giving all they had to give.

If you don’t have trust, you don’t have a team. You have a group of people sharing a workspace. Focus on enhancing trust, and watch the results turn around. Rapidly.

Tune in to our feature on the 60-second podcast HERE