Without Trust You Achieve Nothing
When I am working with clients individually or in groups, the challenge of how to get the best from teams often comes up.
When we start to explore this, fairly often it feels like issues around the performance of the team are nothing to do with the leader or manager and all down to team members.
You know the kind of things you hear. People on my team are not interested, not motivated, no good at their job or disillusioned to name just a few.
It amazes me just how little thought is given to the importance of high levels of trust. The reality is that without trust you will never achieve high levels of performance.
Employees, leaders and managers come up with a whole host of reasons why there is a lack of trust. Do any of these sound familiar?
• If we empower people they will let us down
• We tried in the past and they did not deliver
• Manager or Leader X is all talk and no action
So what are some of the benefits of working on achieving high levels of trust?
• People support each other
• People are willing to try things without fear of failure
• People innovate and take balanced risks
• People focus more on collaborating and less on competing
• People push the boundaries and go the extra mile when times are challenging
• A spirit of togetherness is created
• Camaraderie increases and there is a much greater focus on solutions rather than problems
As a leader or manager the extent to which you trust others sets the tone. If you are someone whose style is to blame then this is the tone that you will set. On the other hand if you are someone who encourages people to try, fail, reflect and adjust then this is the tone that you will set.
The Bottom Line: Trust is not a magic potion but something you can create and maintain through your attitudes and actions as a leader and manager.
About the Author Duncan Brodie
Since 2006 I’ve worked with in excess of 8,000 accountants and professionals in workshops, seminars and one to one helping them land their next jobs and become better leaders, presenters and business partners. Before that I spent 25 years in accountancy climbing the career ladder from Payments Clerk to FD. I’m a CIMA Fellow, Certified Professional Coach and Team Coach Facilitator.