People Need to Trust a Leader
Every interaction you have with a colleague, a client, or a friend, the trust between you either increases or decreases. Every life we touch throughout the day has an impact.
The hallmark of a true leader becomes evident by the trust others demonstrate through their confidence in you.
The lower the confidence factor, the more time anything takes to get done or approved. Without trust, the most straightforward idea costs much more to accomplish. And loyalty becomes a hard pill to swallow when you don’t believe in the person you are to support.
Conversely, a healthy environment where your word is respected, leads to more significant innovation, a powerful brand, increased retention of good people, higher morale, multiplied productivity, and much better results.
To develop and grow this confidence, Firefighters who lead must make decisions that are consistent, predictable, and transparent. Employees crave transparency from leaders, and they want to input in decisions that impact them.
The Top 5 Ways Employees are able to Trust Leaders
1. Ask me for input on decisions that affect me
2. Give me background information so that I can understand your choices
3. Set me up for success with the learning and resources I need.
4. Admit your mistakes.
5. Don’t punish me for asking questions or raising issues
The 8 Pillars of Trust
David Horseager developed a dominant philosophy around what he calls the 8 Pillars of Trust.
To lead in the Fire Department leaders can engender trust by becoming aware of the concerns, aspirations, and circumstances of those around them.
We tend to believe in our friends more than our enemies.
Trust evolves through knowledge and expertise. People trust in leaders with in-depth knowledge and experience because they project confidence in the ability to make informed decisions.
Bold leaders further build confidence with others through consistency. When leaders are consistent and predictable, others acquire confidence and trust in them.
Finally, a leader deserving of our confidence is trustworthy because they have rock-solid honesty and integrity. People trust leaders who are 100% accurate and factual in word and deed.
Consistency is the key to building this kind of trust.
