By Linda Fisher Thornton
Good leaders intentionally build trust. They build it through everyday words and actions. They build it by demonstrating that they can be trusted. They also build it when they extend trust to others. Some leaders wait for people to prove themselves before they trust them, but trust is reciprocal.
Trust-building requires trust-giving.
Are you reaching out? Or are you waiting for your employees to have a “perfect” record before trusting them? Today I am sharing a fictional letter from an employee who doesn’t feel trusted by her manager. As you read this “Dear Manager” letter, see if you can empathize with the employee who doesn’t feel that she is being trusted enough.
We are the beacons of trust in our organizations. If we want to create productive high-trust workplaces, we must start with ourselves, remembering that what we do, others will follow. The longer we wait to trust, the longer we’ll have to wait to be trusted in return.
Follow the Leading in Context Blog for weekly posts that help you Unleash the Positive Power of Ethical Leadership™
For more, see 7 Lenses (foreword by Stephen M. R. Covey) and the related 21 Question Assessment: How Current is My Message About Ethics?
2014 Bronze Axiom Business Book Award Winner
About 7 Lenses
Info@LeadinginContext.com @leadingincontxt @7Lenses
© 2014 Leading in Context LLC
Leading in Context 
Thank you so much for your comment, Randy. I often hear people say that “trust is earned” but we have to earn their trust too, or it won’t work.
LikeLike
Excellent points Linda. When it comes to establishing trust in a relationship, someone has to make the first move by extending trust and in the workplace it’s the leader’s responsibility to do so.
Randy
LikeLike