Building Trust

Trust is one of those things that can get you places with people and keep you going even to places where resources won’t sustain you. But you need some resources to build it. These kinds of resources are neither monetary nor quantifiable. We speak of love, gratitude, affirmation, transparency, consistency, integrity, authenticity, emotional intelligence, transparency, communication, reciprocity- it’s a mouth full yet that’s not all.

We are also aware that the success for any relationship begins with trust, from friendship, to marriage, to motherhood and fatherhood to the field of occupation which is where we have great interest. Occupation has revolved as slavery, server ship, employment and all these relationships are bred on trust even the detested slavery requires a certain level of trust.

The best of us that have worked as employees at some point wonder if our managers ever take time to reflect and while they do if they ever ask themselves these questions. First “Do I walk the talk?” We grow concerned every day if the person that you say you are in the boardroom is the one that you are on the streets. We want to know that when you say we must deliver 110% that you will do the same when your turn comes. Many employees struggle to do what their organisations expect because there is not a single form of modelling. Your team members do not see you do the things that you ask of them so they question why they should.

A junior staff sees the sales go down but won’t flag what they think is the problem because they are not sure you will do the same for them if they were in a hard place. They ask themselves, “Will you be with us when things get tough?” We should see it on your face that you will not go away or tactfully position us in front of you when the heat rises. We want to know that you will dare to burn first. Will you ask yourself the same?

The other sign that we will subtly looking for is if “You are good enough to lead us.” We will stalk you, go through the Kalerwe trenches to find if there’s any part in you that feels shaky. We shall look at you for the moments when you feel least confident to see if you will summon the confidence from the top half of your body or quickly call it through the experiences where your feet have taken you. We just want to know that you are the best fit even though we don’t actually get to choose you.

You also want to ask yourself “Do they believe I understand them” Do you know that the greatest burden to bear is being misunderstood. Managers have the culture of not sharing their interpretation of things and this distances the minds of your staffers from yours. The only clear way a person can know that you understand their ideas or thoughts is to say so and do the things that show you understand what they are communicating. Is there enough connection with your team to nurture a certain level of understanding.

Then there’s the dim realization that often times the people that you are trying to communicate to have not got the message. Oftentimes managers miss the opportunity to ensure that their messages get across without being lost in translation. You want to be sure that the people that you manage have the same distinction between a suggestion, a request, an instruction and a direction as it is in your head. You want to hear the repeat back to be sure.

And we sit here in our multi colored blind room and still wonder if all managers wound wonder just like us and ask themselves those question. How much more would we achieve if leaders asked the same questions everyday. I have a small grain of belief that we would be #bettermanagers.

Character – Do you walk the talk

Commitment – Will you be with us when things get tough

Competence – Are you good enough to lead us

Connection – Do they believe I understand them

Communication – Was the message received

What more could we achieve if leaders asked those questions everyday?