Trust – the secret ingredient for great leadership?
Life and work have changed for everyone in the past few months. New ways of working and how to lead are probably the most frequent topics I’m seeing on LinkedIn and other forums.
I’ve really enjoyed the Leadership Zoomcast, where two role model leaders are getting curious about how to navigate our new reality. I loved being part of one of the episodes with Albert and Neil for an exploration of the “secret recipe” for leaders.
Afterwards, I was definitely left thinking that if we keep our focus on some of the basics, we can’t go too far wrong.
Regardless of what industry you are in, there are three things which I believe matter the most:
- Being human
- Paying attention to what your team need
- Self-awareness of the impact you are having.
I would never suggest there is a definitive list of leadership behaviours–experience suggests it will show up in different ways for different leaders. For example, how I show up as being human will differ from everyone else.
What does strike me though, as I listen to more and more conversations on this subject, is that the common thread running through the discussion is TRUST. All three of the basics highlighted above form the basis of building trust, and it’s in the little day-to-day things that trust grows.
Although I had this conversation in the context of leadership, I do believe everyone can benefit from doing more of all three. Whether you formally lead a team or not, you’re still able to have an incredible impact on those around you. The more remote and virtually we work, the more focussed we need to be on how we connect with others – we need trust more than ever.
Hi Jean! Once again, a thought provoking article. I agree with you regarding the role of trust in effective and real leadership. I would add to that point, though, the quality or attribute of “authenticity”. The trust one builds or feels/has for a leader is based on the sense that “you know” that leader because they are authentic and genuine. In essence, that leader is being true to themselves and reflecting that outwardly…without that trait, I am not too sure that trust can be built or maintained long term. Anyway, just my two cents worth…thank you for your article. I really enjoyed it…again.
Hi Jean – it’s ‘basketball Jean’ here!
I’m really enjoying your articles, this one especially resonated with me. During the pandemic I have seen some good examples of inspiring leaders, interestingly many of them female ….. Jacinda Arden, NZ’s PM, Nicola Sturgoen, Angela Merkel and I think their leadership styles are similar, and for me the greatest strength they have is that they appear to be human and they are honest. They aren’t afraid to say when they don’t know, they share their feelings and most importantly they are honest, this in turn leads to trust and makes them inspirational leaders. I’m lucky in my current role to be working with some similarly inspirational leaders and it makes life so much more enjoyable and productive. I really hope to meet you in person some day soon, we will have to get Karen on the case☺️