Leaders we can trust are clear, consistent, caring, and competent.
Clarity
Clarity is crucial in achieving desired outcomes. Teams unleash creativity when they understand mission and are aligned to goals. Lack of clarity results in wasted time and frustrated people.
Consistency
Consistent leaders make people feel safe and achieve superior results. To the contrary, leaders that change course too frequently have difficulty maintaining the trust of their teams and lose productivity. The best leaders are governed by their guiding principles. Articulating these principles make the leader visible, accessible, and predictable even when they are not present physically.
Leaders lead best when we see them living their core values and the work being delivered ties others to a purpose greater than themselves.
Caring
Solidify trust through caring. We learn how the leader values people by their behaviors.
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- Do they praise others generously?
- Do they look to give credit?
- Are they building relationships for the benefit of the team or for themselves?
- Do they see leadership in terms of transactions or relationships?
- Are other leaders following them or do they walk alone?
Competent
While the leader may not be the expert on the team, few would dare follow willingly one who lacks ability to deliver.
Shepherding: The art of becoming the leader others want to follow.
