It’s one thing to work hard at your leadership mindset and skills, but leadership is in the eye of the beholder. Would others describe you as a leader? Not just someone they will follow, but someone they respect, can be inspired by and go the extra mile for?
Through my leadership coaching and training, and my own experiences of leading and being led, I’ve learnt that it comes down to one thing. Trust. Others trusting in your competency as a leader, how they experience you in the every day and your adherence to your values.
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You may think your competency as a leader is a given - you wouldn’t have got the promotion unless you had demonstrated the skills, right? In uncertain times, teams need a leader who isn’t just competent at the job but makes that competence visible to others. Communication and transparency are key and provide reassurance that you know what you are doing.
Communicate your vision for the team, how you will get there, what you will do, and what you need from them. Keep it simple, use stories and make it a two-way conversation. Continue to provide guidance and communicate progress as you move towards your vision.
Making sure your conversations are two-way is also a positive factor that influences how your team experiences you in the everyday. Leading a team means getting the right balance between empowering others, giving them the challenge and autonomy to grow, and showing compassion and care.
The basics of compassion and care include giving thanks and appreciation (so obvious, but so easily forgotten during a busy work day!), being inclusive and not having favourites, and providing both positive and negative feedback well. Delegation is at the centre of empowering others.
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So many leaders delegate tasks without spending time explaining and coaching people through it, then wonder why they end up doing it themselves. If you know that your team member is well prepared, you can also delegate the responsibility - letting them know what needs to be done but not being prescriptive in how to do it.
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Finally, people want to follow leaders to adhere to their own values. Consistency in words, behaviours and actions is critical, as is sharing your values (back to communication!) so that your team can see what you stand for as a leader. Trustworthy leaders stick to their values even when put under pressure.
Knowing your leadership values or principles can help you articulate your leadership brand, make values-based decisions and give you stability in a crisis, leading to fortitude. Teams are more likely to be loyal to leaders who are predictable in their behaviour and stay true to their word. A good place to start is by increasing your self-awareness of how you lead, your beliefs about good leadership and the values that you live and lead by
That’s three ways in which you can inspire trust as a leader.
How do you measure up to each of them?
If you want to develop your leadership style, then a coaching programme with me can help. Together we’ll work on the hallmarks of your style, how you put them into practice, and how you can uphold them, even in difficult situations.
And if you want to explore your leadership principles and values further, then the Tide Risers Leadership Principles Course is perfect for you. When I attended, it gave me clarity on how I lead and how I want to keep on leading. In these times of uncertainty, that’s a necessity, whatever your leadership role.