Building Trust: What makes trust so valuable in leadership? What is the role of this trait in the relationship between leaders and their teams?
Great leaders may have the authority to demand that their teams follow. But by building trust, great leaders instill in their teams the powerful instinct to follow. ~ www.jaywren.com
Building Trust
There several traits that make leaders great. Intelligence. Emotional maturity. High energy. Decisiveness. But the foundation of leadership sits atop the confidence between leaders and their teams. Leaders must have confidence in their teams. Team members must have confidence in their leader. Furthermore, team members must have confidence in each other. Through training and direction, leaders can help team members build relationships based on trust.
The Benefits
Confidence in leadership strengthens a team. Every organization has periods of greater challenge. These periods create uncertainty. Furthermore, periods of uncertainty create stress. However, people will tolerate greater uncertainty and pressure in an organization where there is confidence in the reliability of leadership.
The Pillars of Trust
Guidelines
For people to trust their leader, they must know what leaders expect them to do. Furthermore, they need to know how to do their job. They must know the deadlines and what methods to use. Guidelines must be specific and clear. Furthermore, guidelines help team members engage and trust the process for completing their work. The clarity of guidelines creates confidence that team members are doing the things leaders expect of them.
Relationships
Relationships in management run uphill and downhill. It is not enough that team members have confidence in their leader. Great leaders must have confidence in all the members of their team. Furthermore, these leaders must remove team members who are not trustworthy.
A Safe Open Door
Team members must know that they are safe in giving feedback that is vital to the operation of the team. Furthermore, team members must know that the door to management is open.
