Encyclopedia of Leadership

HOW TO USE THIS LEADERSHIP TOOL

“You demonstrate your trust in others through your actions—how much you check and control their work, how

much you delegate and allow people to participate. Individuals who are unable to trust other people often fail to

become leaders. ...Conversely, [leaders] who trust others too much may also fail, because they can lose touch

and a sense of connectedness to their team. Delegation becomes abdication.”

—James Kouzes and Barry Posner, THE LEADERSHIP CHALLENGE

Here is a self-assessment of some behavioral measures of trust. It is easy to delude oneself about

one’s own behavior; this assessment is best reviewed with a coach or others who will give you

feedback.

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A LEADER’S TRUSTSELF-ASSESSMENT

SECTION 12 TOOLS FORLEADINGRELATIONSHIPS 367

Behavior begets behavior; trusting others predisposes them to trust you. Thus, listening to

others helps ready them to listen to you. If you want others to share information with you,

start by sharing your information with them. Where people are involved, nothing works all

of the time, but this isa useful guideline.

Trust can only grow in an environment of goodwill, respect, and willingness to work on

your relationship with another person. Without these elements in place, trust atrophies.

Conflict resolution strategies either make things worse or have only minimal impact.

People trust people who are loyal to their espoused values. Integrity and honesty sometimes

demand frustrating compromise among loyalties—to your values, to a relationship, to an

organization, and so on. Manage these compromises carefully, not denying your own

perceptions, nor taking the burden of someone else’s problem on your own shoulders.

Leaders don’t have to be perfect to be trustworthy. All leaders sometimes fall short of other

people’s expectations, and even of their own expectations. See your mistakes as learning

opportunities or as temporary and isolated events, rather than as proof that there’s an

inherent flaw in your character.

People tend to trust people who have a positive goodwill balance in the relationship bank

with them. [☛12.1 The Relationship Bank] That is, if you make deposits in your working

relationship by being supportive, reliable, and so on, then it won’t be quite as damaging

when you make a withdrawal (e.g., make a mistake). Without a balance in the bank,

however, a withdrawal damages the relationship. Having a lot of positives on deposit

doesn’t mean that people won’t get upset with you, but that they will likely listen more

objectively, and will give you the benefit of the doubt.

Trusting others

predisposes them to

trusting you.

Trusting only flourish-

es in a respectful envi-

ronment.

Trust is based on

integrity and honesty.

Trust does not mean

perfection.

Trust is built on long-

term goodwill.

I am open with information

and rarely withhold it. 0 | | | | 5 | | | | 10

[☛8.1 Conversations]

I give new people the

benefit of the doubt, and trust 0 | | | | 5 | | | | 10

them until given reason not to. [☛15.2 Emotional Intelligence]

My self-assessment

Trust behavior (0 = poor to 10 = great) Improvement actions