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Follow Up to Integrity and Trust
By Michael | August 13, 2009
“Have the courage to say no. Have the courage to face the truth. Do the right thing because it is right. These are the magic keys to living your life with integrity.”
- W. Clement Stone
Last week our leadership topic discussed integrity and trust and we were requested to respond to the following:
1. How does one assess their team to see if they will follow the leader?
2. How does one assess the trust and confidence that the team members have in their leader?
Our response, albeit lengthy, is based on our leadership experience and additional details supplied by Lombardo and Eichinger in For Your Improvement.
PeopleTek has worked with many leaders and their teams spanning 13 years and have observed both successes and gaps. When the Leadership Journey and the Team Leadership Journey programs were created, they were done so with the impetus on increasing trust and confidence with leaders and their teams. It focuses on self and social awareness and identifies knowing what is key to you.
These elements include:
Being authentic with your vision, mission, goals, and measures; being passionate about them and persistent and consistently displaying behaviors that support them.
Note: Many leaders don’t know what they want so how can others buy in?
Understanding the passion and excellence in others and being supportive of their
goals. (what is your teams’ make-up and their Magic Dust?)
Linking all processes to your vision. This includes: Hiring, Rewards and Performance Appraisal, Training, Coaching, Change Management, Communication and the management skills and the discipline to hold yourself and others accountable.
The ability to give and receive feedback, truly listen and handle conflict in a
healthy, honoring manner.
Understand what you want and understand others; have the ability to deal with others in their language, and enable your team to do the same.
Be open and vulnerable and create an atmosphere encouraging others to do the same.
Things to consider:
If a leader and their team don’t have a vision and the passion to attain it, trust
and confidence are impacted significantly.
Have you ever been part of a team where members are just there to pass the time instead of being passionate about what they desire to achieve? Have you observed behaviors that don’t link to the vision? Do you even know how YOU personally can support the vision?
All your behaviors and those of your team must link to the vision or integrity goes
down the drain. Have you ever had a leader who said they were “people” oriented
yet they avoided training and development processes to help the people grow and
better themselves? What about a leader that says they believe in teams yet they
seem to be more of an independent contributor and excludes the team from supporting key efforts or worse yet does not keep them informed?
Lombardo and Eichinger say the most common triggers for the inability to build trust are: personal disorganization, inconsistencies, counter-productive habits, and, not considering the impact.
1. Are you a hedger? Do you hold back? Don’t speak up when you need to? Freudian slips? Stumble over words? Stick to facts and on issues; practice what you will say. Be prepared to defend opposing views, be specific with no blame – just clearly SAY IT.
2. Do you oversell or try too hard? Do you embellish? Stretch the truth? Can’t
say no? Don’t promise what you can’t deliver and if you just “don’t know”, say
it.
3. Do you have loose lips? This can cause trust issues. Keep personal information personal. If any issue could be a legal one do not state you will keep it confidential. Don’t let others get you in the middle of their complaints with others. Have them address it with the person directly.
4. Avoid buying favors from friends. Stick to business and utilize networking.
5. Admit mistakes and move on.
6. Don’t avoid conflict.
7. Don’t be a loner. Communicate and make sure team members know what you do.
8. Follow through on commitments.
9. Don’t use others, take credit not due you, sabotage others, or burn bridges. If you have alienated others ask them if the situation can be repaired. Ask for
assistance and feedback.
10. Use “we” instead of “I”. This will slow down looking overly ambitious and
minimize looking that you’re only out for yourself. Share credit.
11. Write down all the reasons you may be viewed as untrustworthy. ex. Change my mind too often, jump to conclusions, take sides, play favorites, etc. WRITE DOWN Counter-behaviors that you wish to avoid.
Confidential team assessments are a great way to discover how the members truly feel about team and leadership strengths and weaknesses, and having your team conduct 360′ feedback annually is a great way to measure the progress being made.
We’re here to help!
Sincerely,
Michael W. Kublin and Jan Mayer-Rodriguez
For more information about PeopleTek visit our website
www.peopletekcoaching.com
Or contact:
Mike Kublin - email mkublin@peopletekcoaching.com
phone 1.888.565.9555 x 711
or
Jan Mayer-Rodriguez
email jan@peopletekcoaching.com
phone 1.888.565.9555 x712
Click below to find out more about PeopleTek’s specialty programs:
our more advanced program:
our popular:
and our new program:
Special summer rates.
Call 888.565.9555 ext 711 for details
“Integrity is the essence of everything successful.”
- Richard Buckminster Fuller
“Strive for integrity – that means knowing your values in life and behaving in a way that is consistent with these values”.
“No one will question your integrity if your integrity is not questionable.”
- Nathaniel Bronner Jr.
PeopleTek’s key components for successful leaders:
Passion
Persistence
People
Process (this includes Planning)
Profit
LEARNING LEADING SUCCEEDING!
www.peopletekcoaching.com
888.555.9555
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