Phillip Van Hooser - Transformational Leadership

In the “Quick Vote” poll on CNN.com yesterday, the question posed was this: “Do You Trust Your Boss?” The poll is admittedly not scientific. But so far, 171,000 plus people have responded and the results say a lot about trust in leadership. 42% of those responding say they trust their boss. 41% say they don’t. 16% indicate they don’t have a boss — possibly trust issues play into this number as well.

For those in leadership positions, most recognize that one of the key elements of the leadership equation is the issue of trust. We also recognize that trust, like respect, does not automatically come with the leadership positions we occupy. Trust must be earned. We earn it from those we desire to lead. But how? I believe there are at least three basic steps involved in establishing and earning trust.

Step 1: Take responsibility! Without question this is the most important aspect in earning trust, and yet, it is often the most overlooked. We are personally impressed by leaders who, in practice, take a little bit more than their share of the blame and a little bit less than their share of the credit. Too often though, human nature leads us to do just the opposite — to take a little bit more than our share of the credit and a little bit less than our share of the blame. Remember, the buck stops where? With the leader, that’s where!

Step 2: Level with your followers. To be a trusted leader requires us to “fess up” regularly. I have a theory about such things. It can be stated this way: We tend to forgive that which we can imagine ourselves having done. We have difficulty forgiving that which we can’t imagine ourselves doing. In other words, followers will accept the fact that you occasionally make mistakes — we all do. On the other hand, they cannot or will not forgive mistakes that their leader is unwilling to admit and take responsibility for. Why? Because they can’t imagine (or stomach) an unwillingness to admit mistakes that are already obvious to everyone.

Step 3: Share your feelings. If we are going to take responsibility and level with our followers, the next obvious step is honest, open communications with them. But please be careful. I encourage you to share your emotions, don’t show them! Don’t assume that your followers can read your mind as to what you are thinking and feeling. They can’t and they shouldn’t be expected to. You are their leader — lead! Step out of your comfort zones and tell your people about the emotions you are experiencing - positive and negative.

These three steps will quickly earn you the reputation as someone that can be trusted. After all, what better poll is there for leaders than that?

Phillip Van Hooser
Leadership Expert, Author & Keynote Speaker
phil@vanhooser.com