Why trust is so important for leadership.

Your trustworthiness as a leader will determine your ability to create result. When people trust you, they are going to follow you. You have shown in words and deeds that you care for them, value them and that you are a humble person.

People feel that their voice matter and that someone has listened. They know where the company is going and how they can contribute. The reasons behind the decisions are clarified and people have been able to take part in the decision making process.

With higher trust the job satisfaction will increase together with higher engagement and commitment. Collaboration with others will also be better because your trustworthiness will spread throughout the organization.

Build inner strength

The best way to build trust in an organization is to start with yourself first. One of the most important things you can do as a leader is to build your inner strength. Your inner strength will determine how you see others and guide your actions.

If you have inner strength, you will be able to connect with others more efficiently and create influence with them. Leadership is influence, and your result is determined to 80% upon your relations.

How you see yourself is how you see others. If you have low confidence in yourself you will have low confidence in others as well.

Boosting confidence in yourself is a little bit like charging a battery.

You can use incantations/mantras that are very effective. It is as simple as saying to yourself, I can do this, I am the best, I love myself, I will find a way, I learn every day, I am humble, etc.

When you do this over time, you will build up a fantastic self confidence that helps you during adversity.

Your positive mood will affect others, and their attitude towards you will be positive. It is like you give energy away but you get it in return even more than you gave.

Everything will be better if you start with yourself.

You can practice the trust equation on yourself and see the positive effects on others. In short, the trust equation is about doing the things you say you should do (walk the talk), doing it on time, connecting with people, and showing that you care and being humble.

Trust story

A principal at a school gathered three teachers to a meeting at his office. He told them that they were the best teachers the school had to offer. He explained that he would provide these teachers with the best students in the school for the coming year, to see how far the could go in terms of achievements.

After one year, he gathered the teachers again and explained that their result had been terrific. Their students had outperformed the others by more than 20 %.

The teachers were pleased to hear this. However, at the end of the conversation, the principal said that he hadn’t been fair with them. He explained that the students were not the best students from the beginning, and he continued to explain that the teachers neither was the best.

The principal selected both the students and the teachers from a list randomly. The result came from how they saw themselves and the trust of the principal made them act as is if they were the best in the school.

-The way you see yourself will create a feeling that determines your actions. The generated result then confirms the way you see yourself.

Before you start building trust with others, start building your inner strength, and learn to trust yourself. The you will be able to trust others and they will perform better when someone believes in them. In the end the result from the people will shine back at you as the leader.