One concept that has been getting a lot of attention lately is organizational trust. In many of today's biggest and most respected companies, there is a trust deficit where employees, mid-level managers, and even senior executives lack the confidence to do their job. As leaders, we need to have confidence and trust in our people and we need to create an environment where innovation, creativity, and self-assurance attract the best and brightest. Businesses grow best when employees grow with it yet not trusting is the number one mistake leaders make. Strong leadership depends on a qualified team, their decisions, and their ability to get things done.
Why Trust Is Important
Avoid Burn Out
It's nice to know that the work you delegate or your assigned team can get the job done. But there's more to trust than knowing a positive result will occur. Without trust and confidence, even the best leaders flounder as they can't keep the pace necessary to sustain a growing thriving organization. There are only so many hours in each day and leaders who lack confidence in their team try and inevitably fail to do everything on their own.
Retain Great Talent
If you deny your people the freedom and flexibility to use their own judgment and to pursue their work confidently the good ones will leave. Without a little latitude and the ability to "break a little glass," employees will feel frustrated and unsatisfied. Those that do stay will never go above and beyond resulting in a mediocre organization where "exceptionalism" is nowhere in sight.
Build Future Leaders
A primary role of any leader is to develop future leaders and grow the organization forward with the best and brightest. If the mindset is to look inward and do everything alone, by definition, you limit your ability to hire great people, retain great people, and build a team that can grow revenue and profits. The greatest and most successful leaders build high-performing organizations by trusting their teams. Failure to delegate is the number one mistake leaders make, not recognizing that a strong support system is critical for success. Balancing delegation with risk, having qualified people to delegate to, and giving them the latitude they need to create and excel is fundamental. Besides one of the greatest things about leadership and trust is the fact that once you make a decision you always have the opportunity to make more. No leader or organization can have long-term success without building a team of successful leaders. Growth both personally and organizationally comes primarily by developing leaders and employees whose efforts, talents, and results are expanded geometrically. In virtually all situations "we" is far more powerful than "me!"