Without a leader, a community is merely a crowd. Crowds can easily become mobs—emotional, illogical, unempathetic, and directionless. Mobs can incite fear, cause destruction, and destabilize establishments, often lacking any real leadership.
Assuming each of your communities, whether organizational or global, has some form of leadership structure, we must ask: where does leadership derive its power and influence to transform crowds into cohesive communities? How do some individuals persuade and mobilize a community to move forward with a plan, purpose, or vision?
The most challenging and crucial task any leader faces is earning the trust of their people. Gaining a person's trust—be it an employee, volunteer, or community member—is more than half the battle. Trust sells cars, wins elections, and motivates people.
So, how do we build trust? Trust is the firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability, and strength of someone or something. It is like a bank account: when we start any new relationship, the account is empty. Neither party has made any deposits, so trust is low. We may still be polite and accepting to meet societal norms, but we’re not about to reveal our deepest secrets to people we've just met. As we spend time together, we either make deposits into that account or withdrawals. If we start with nothing and keep taking, it doesn’t take long to declare "trust bankruptcy."
Acts of character and competency from another person fill our trust tank. Every day, there are thousands of "moments of truth," as Jan Carlzon, former president and CEO of Scandinavian Airlines (SAS), called them. These are opportunities for people to add to or take from your trust account. Carlzon believed that if you managed every interaction to create a positive outcome, you and your business would be successful.
In Stephen Covey’s seminal work, The Speed of Trust, he shows that trust is built on credibility, which hinges on two factors: character and competency. Character consists of the moral qualities and values distinctive to an individual, while competency is the ability to do something successfully or efficiently. Integrity and intent are at the core of character, and capabilities and results are at the core of competency. All four cores are necessary for credibility—or trust. Broken trust is always a failure of one or the other.
To trust is to be vulnerable. We must be vulnerable to bring people in that we trust; we must show our belly to be vulnerable with our people. Vulnerability is the state of being exposed to the possibility of attack or harm, bringing uncertainty, risk, and emotional exposure.
Leaders must first recognize the central role that relationships, emotions, feelings, and trust play in our communities. They must stay curious about these emotions, thoughts, vulnerabilities, and behaviors. Finally, leaders need the ability and willingness to lean into discomfort and vulnerability, for that is where trust is developed. We will delve deeper into vulnerability and trust in the chapter on Creativity.
Three Actions to Build Trust in Your Community This Week:
Engage in Meaningful Conversations
Action: Set aside 2 hours this week to have one-on-one conversations with a few members of your team.
Purpose: Focus on active listening, showing genuine interest in their thoughts, feelings, and experiences. This demonstrates your character and builds a foundation of trust.
Tip: Use open-ended questions to encourage sharing and express empathy and understanding in your responses.
2. Demonstrate Competency through Small Wins
Action: Identify a task or project that someone else needs help or assistance with and where you can quickly and effectively deliver results.
Purpose: Completing a task successfully and efficiently showcases your competency, reinforcing your reliability and ability to lead.
Tip: Choose something that aligns with your strengths and ensure clear communication of your progress and outcomes to those involved.
3. Show Vulnerability and Authenticity
Action: Find the right opportunity and share a personal story or experience where you made a mistake, how it made you feel and how you overcame it.
Purpose: By being open and honest about your vulnerabilities, sharing your emotions and feelings around the event are okay. This helps to foster a culture of trust and authenticity within your community.
Tip: Frame the story in a way that highlights the lessons learned and the positive changes that resulted, reinforcing your integrity and intent.