"Trust is the essence of leadership." -- Colin Powell, Retired General of the US Army
General Colin Luther Powell, United States Army (Ret.) (born April 5, 1937) is an American statesman. He was the 65th United States Secretary of State (2001-05), serving under President George W. Bush. He was the first African American appointed to that position. As a General in the United States Army, Powell also served as National Security Advisor (1987-1989) and as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (1989-1993), holding the latter position during the Gulf War. -- Wikipedia
We frequently get asked questions and hear comments about trust within teams, across teams, and between a leader and their direct reports. Since trust is the foundation for having high performing teams, we wanted to share a self assessment developed by Andrew DuBrin. There is no scoring for the assessment; rather it is intended for self reflection to see how many of the statements fit you. The higher the number, the more trustworthy you are.
Behaviors and Attitudes of a Trustworthy Leader
The following are behaviors and attitudes of leaders who are generally trusted by their group members and constituents. After you read each characteristic check whether this is a behavior or attitude that you appear to have developed already or does not fit you at present.
1. Tells people he or she is going to do something, and then always follows through and gets it done.
2. Described by others as being reliable.
3. Good at keeping secrets and confidences.
4. Tells the truth consistently.
5. Minimizes telling people what they want to hear.
6. Described by others as "walking the talk".
7. Delivers consistent messages to others in terms of matching words and deeds.
8. Does what he or she expects others to do.
9. Minimizes hypocrisy by not engaging in activities he or she tells others are wrong.
10. Readily accepts feedback on behavior from others.
11. Maintains eye contact with people when talking to them.
12. Appears relaxed and confident when explaining his or her side of a story.
13. Individualizes compliments to others rather than saying something like "you look great" to a large group of people.
14. Doesn't expect lavish perks for himself or herself while expecting others to go on an austerity diet.
15. Does not tell others a crisis is pending (when it isn't) just to gain their cooperation.
16. Collaborates with others to make creative decisions.
17. Communicates information to people at all organizational levels.
18. Readily shares financial information with others.
19. Listens to people and then acts on many of their suggestions.
20. Generally engages in predictable behavior.
How did you do? You can take it to the next level and ask a few people that you know well to answer the questions for you and then compare your self-perception with that of others.
"Without trust, words become the hollow sound of a wooden gong. With trust, words become life itself!" -- John Harold
Please take a moment to reflect on General Powell's words.
Then ask yourself questions such as:
General Colin Luther Powell, United States Army (Ret.) (born April 5, 1937) is an American statesman. He was the 65th United States Secretary of State (2001-05), serving under President George W. Bush. He was the first African American appointed to that position. As a General in the United States Army, Powell also served as National Security Advisor (1987-1989) and as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (1989-1993), holding the latter position during the Gulf War. -- Wikipedia
We frequently get asked questions and hear comments about trust within teams, across teams, and between a leader and their direct reports. Since trust is the foundation for having high performing teams, we wanted to share a self assessment developed by Andrew DuBrin. There is no scoring for the assessment; rather it is intended for self reflection to see how many of the statements fit you. The higher the number, the more trustworthy you are.
Behaviors and Attitudes of a Trustworthy Leader
The following are behaviors and attitudes of leaders who are generally trusted by their group members and constituents. After you read each characteristic check whether this is a behavior or attitude that you appear to have developed already or does not fit you at present.
1. Tells people he or she is going to do something, and then always follows through and gets it done.
2. Described by others as being reliable.
3. Good at keeping secrets and confidences.
4. Tells the truth consistently.
5. Minimizes telling people what they want to hear.
6. Described by others as "walking the talk".
7. Delivers consistent messages to others in terms of matching words and deeds.
8. Does what he or she expects others to do.
9. Minimizes hypocrisy by not engaging in activities he or she tells others are wrong.
10. Readily accepts feedback on behavior from others.
11. Maintains eye contact with people when talking to them.
12. Appears relaxed and confident when explaining his or her side of a story.
13. Individualizes compliments to others rather than saying something like "you look great" to a large group of people.
14. Doesn't expect lavish perks for himself or herself while expecting others to go on an austerity diet.
15. Does not tell others a crisis is pending (when it isn't) just to gain their cooperation.
16. Collaborates with others to make creative decisions.
17. Communicates information to people at all organizational levels.
18. Readily shares financial information with others.
19. Listens to people and then acts on many of their suggestions.
20. Generally engages in predictable behavior.
How did you do? You can take it to the next level and ask a few people that you know well to answer the questions for you and then compare your self-perception with that of others.
"Without trust, words become the hollow sound of a wooden gong. With trust, words become life itself!" -- John Harold
Please take a moment to reflect on General Powell's words.
Then ask yourself questions such as:
- Do I have the trust of my teams, partners and superiors?
- If yes, am I taking the right steps to maintain and strengthen it?
- If not, do I have a plan in place to gain (or re-gain) their trust?
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