Question to George...during a coaching conversation
"I'm caught on a congested road in my leadership, having great difficulty establishing my authority in the new operational leadership role. They don't seem to buying-in at all and I feel its posing a foundational threat to the organisation. Why is it so difficult?" - Operations Manager
"Yes, pain in leadership is inevitable." - George Sawiris
It begs the question/s and a conversation around...
What is your goal? What is the reality of this question? How did you explore the obstacles? So what are your options for the way forward?
Well picked up, there is a real threat of it impacting the foundation of the organisation
There is definitely a weak signal here...is it 'authority' or 'trust' you want to establish?
Trust is essential for influence and credibility, and it seems to be missing right now.
more importantly, How do you build trust?
So What?
Firstly, there are five key personal traits to build trust. So, let's look at how to demonstrate these five attributes and personal traits that are likely to build people's confidence in you:
1. Competence.
We are inclined to trust those people who have relevant knowledge and experience, and can keep the organisation or team whole and healthy. In fact it's a prerequisite of leadership. But competence also means the ability to learn on a continuing basis, to build harmonious and collaborative relationships, and more importantly to fire up people's curiosity.
2. Character.
We also tend to trust people who stand for something - a value, an ideal, a cause, a mission. They show a coherent pattern of behaviour and decisions that clarify and reinforce in the eyes of all around them what the leader stands for. In other words, they "figure out what is crucial," and then they "stay focused on it."
3. Courage.
Is a close corollary to character. I rate this trait highly. In any context, though, leaders should ask themselves the "courage question": Even if I'm doing things right, am I doing the right thing? Am I standing for that thing even in the face of adversity?
4. Loyalty.
Is a fourth key building block to trust. For me, loyalty is a signpost that points three ways: up, down, and sideways. I believe that leaders have to take the initiative by demonstrating loyalty to their direct reports.
5. Confidence.
This raises the issue of "ego." No one gets and holds a leadership position without a healthy dose of ego. And ego - combined with commitments to the organisation's mission - is what builds confidence.
For me, confidence is an issue of 'certainty' and 'resolve':
Certainty in the mission you are trying to accomplish, and
Resolve in doing whatever it takes tactically to achieve your goals
Other attributes to be aware of: curiosity, confidence, communication and its consistency.
"Self-trust is the key to your success." - George Sawiris
Trust as a foundation for high performance means just that: trust comes first. When we try to make the plan before the trust issues are resolved, we deal with symptoms rather than causes and repeating problems just change names.
Yes, you can order people to do things. But you run the risk of getting the salute and not the heart, gaining compliance and not the commitment.
Now What?
The idea at work...to gain traction, here are 5 of the best tactics for fostering an environment of trust in the workplace:
1. Never underestimate the 'Trust Factor':
My principle here is about building trust. Trust comes from exhibiting many key traits, including competence, character, curiosity, communication, consistency, courage, confidence and loyalty.
2. Encourage communication, solicit and act on feedback:
A leader has a responsibility to be available to his people and its critical to solicit feedback continuous basis. Giving them an easy opportunity to speak their piece, without fear of retribution, builds trust throughout the entire organisation. Remember, listen more than you speak.
3. Practice consistency:
More importantly, be consistent with your messaging.
4. Be a servant leader:
Help people to accomplish the goals that emanate from the organisation or teams vision. Give them the tools they need, and turn them loose. Show appreciation every day.
5. Train people how to think:
You can train people to think quality, to think service—but there's a difference: whether these efforts come from trust and commitment, and whether they're genuine. And that's the difference that communicates to the market, which makes people want to do business with you. The concept of trust is simple: build on individual confidence and eliminate fear as an operating principle. The process is achievable, once we understand the emotions associated with trust and incorporate them into these four steps:
1. Define what we mean by trust, 2. Understand our blind spots, 3. Communicate with intention, and, 4. Produce results.
"The conversion to a team mentality is difficult because effective teams must be predicated on trust." - George Sawiris
by George K Sawiris AFAMI October 2015
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