Think of a person who had confidence in you and extended trust. Reflect on its ongoing impact. Will you have the same impact on your team members?
Trust is one of the most written-about and talked-about topics in the business world today. Ask yourself, Am I more inclined to trust or distrust others? Is your natural tendency to be suspicious of others, or are you able to extend trust even to those who have not yet fully “earned it”? As Abraham Lincoln famously said, “If you trust, you will be disappointed occasionally, but if you mistrust, you will be miserable all the time.”
Success is often the direct result of someone extending trust and allowing individuals to learn a critical leadership trait. Great leaders extend trust, sometimes beyond even what is deserved.
FROM MESS TO SUCCESS: INSPIRE TRUST
- List all the people in your life who extended trust to you. To the side of their name, jot down a note that reminds you what their trust meant to you, maybe more now than it did then.
- Next, list the names of people on your team, in your division, organization, family, community, etc. Beside their name, write out what extending trust to them might look like — something you’ve not yet done. Jot down some actions, ideas, or projects that, with trust from you, they could potentially excel at. Be specific.
- Now, extend trust to them.
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