Why the leader must be trusted

That the leader must trust his people is the underlying motif behind the management processes that build his success story. But perhaps what is more critical is that first a leader must be trusted. It is common wisdom that every follower would pose certain questions to himself before he commits himself to a leader whether he voluntarily accepts the leader or has the leader thrust upon him. The crucial questions implicit in the relationship are around : Does he care about me ? Does he have my welfare at heart ? Can I trust him ? While blind trust in a leader happens, it is a rare commodity and occurs only when the cause is larger than the leader. Generally, followers want answers to their questions before they commit either effort or support. This is a foundational issue in organizations – one that can have far reaching consequences on productivity and performance.
Most managers are quick to attribute performance flaws to the quality and competence of their teams – the typical expression of this attribution is to say – after all I have inherited my team – implying that since they had no choice in the selection, they could not be held completely responsible for the results. Ergo, the practice of managers moving organizations with ‘ trusted’ subordinates in tow – a practice frowned upon and discouraged by many organizations since consequences of such wholesale buyouts could be demoralization in the ranks, bias, favoritism and consequent attrition. A more serious issue could be changes in the culture of the recruiting organization and unless such culture change is consciously desired or planned for could be game – changing in the long run, only hopefully on a positive scale.
The challenge therefore lies in managers establishing trust – relationships with their subordinates quickly and as seamlessly as possible. Gaining and getting trust is not unfortunately an easy or equal exchange and a manager would quickly discover that it is harder being trusted than to trust. The potential leader has more at stake than the potential follower and that is why it is a hard act to follow. That is why the aspiring leader is called upon to ‘model the way’. More than words and intentions it is the aspiring leaders’ behavior that can make or break a career and by extension a function, a department, an organization.
In the deep reserves of a followers heart lie the ultimate decisions – how much to commit, how much to withhold. To trust or not to trust – that is the question !