As we draw close to the International Day of Trust, I’m inspired to revisit and expand one of the essential aspects of being a Courageous Leader:
Courageous leaders are deeply aware of the value of trust – in themselves, in the processes they set up and in the people around them – working with them in a work team or living with them as members of a family. Trust is a foundation value of a Courageous Leader. Without trust, it is virtually impossible to be courageous.
Courage always involves an element of trust; firstly you need to trust in yourself – to do what you believe to be right and stay true to the kind of leader you really want to be. Even when there is pressure from other sources, it is in those challenging times that courage comes to the fore and when you demonstrate that you are trustworthy. This is true of you as a leader in all aspects of your life – as a parent, a sister, a supervisor, a wife, a manger, a daughter or a board member and all your other roles.
Trusting in the processes set up and agreed to is essential. This shows you believe in the other people to follow the process and produce the results. We are often tempted to second guess or question the way something is being done, and while constructive input can be valuable it is important to let others work with agreed processes and systems without feeling that they have someone ‘looking over their shoulder’. This can be very challenging and I have probably learnt the most about this concept by being the mother of a teenage daughter!
Finally there is the trust you have in other people – facilitating opportunities and experiences that enable them to develop and learn, to sometimes fail and learn from that too. Twenty-first century organisations cannot afford to have robotic employees; it is important to attract and retain creative problem solvers who are inspired to courageously take the organisation to the next level. If you want people to work with passion and to unleash their true potential they need to feel trusted to deliver, not forced to comply.
Some of us have a natural propensity to trust and others of us are more skeptical and critical. No matter our natural propensity – trust in others is the true expression of our foundation value as a Courageous Leader. Developing our ‘trust muscles’ leads to enhanced teamwork, empowered individuals, reduced blame and greater accountability. I encourage you all to trust more in your journey of becoming a Courageous Leader.
As one of the co-authors to Vanessa Hall’s book The Truth About Trust it is a real honour to be part of the growing Entente Trust Community and to celebrate the International Day of Trust.
