Leadership Through Trust

Team members look towards a “People Manager” and not a Task Manager. Though Leadership can take various forms based on the situation the team and leader is in as discussed in my earlier post, the basis of any leadership is Trust. Leadership involves people and people work on trust. Though there are numerous definition on trust and “the right thing to do” to create trust, both in print and online, I have summarized the key 3 traits of creating a trust bond between leader and his team as under. I look forward for leaders with these traits and I, as a people manager, have implemented these to garner trust.

1.       Believe in the Team- Quoting Marissa Mayer on choosing a leader “..work for someone who believes in you- because when they believe in you, they'll invest in you”, leaders must bring in the thought that he/she believes in the team. Belief is trust which is expressed by investing the energy for the team and motivating them to do what otherwise seems impossible.

2.       Be Open, Honest and Democratic- When a leader opens up, the team is enthralled. Successful leaders have always shared ups and downs with the team which brings in the oneness. A closed door leader creates an environment of team working in silos which is eating into most corporates. A leader who lies, will be lonely.  The trust factor is lost and camaraderie vanishes. A democratic leader appreciates everyone in open and corrects individuals in isolation. This creates the bond and opens up the team to take on challenges.

3.       Take the Blame and not Expose the Team – Throwing a team member under the bus is the last thing a true leader can imagine. There are outcomes which may not be in the best interest. Rather than exposing the weak link and walking out of the mess, a leader must take the hit. When team members see that you are willing to take the blame for the good of the team, they start to trust you.  As leader you need to accept the responsibility for both the good and the bad.

Leaders are not born but developed. Today’s team members are tomorrow’s leaders. Set the example for leadership through trust and this will create a team prepared to face challenges and on high motivation levels to drive for results.