How To Be A Trustworthy Leader

Trust is something that all people value and this is no different in a leadership position. Jack Zenger and Joseph Folkman wrote an article in the Harvard Business Review, The 3 Elements of Trust, in which they explain how leaders are more reliable when their followers trust them.

When I first saw the articles title I figured it was about having followers that you can trust. To my surprise, it is more about seeing how a follower views their leader and what impact that has. Its focal point is about the qualities a leader should have in order to be a more trustworthy person.

Zenger and Folkman give us three elements, these elements are positive relationships, good judgment and consistency.

The first element of positive relationships is one of the hardest qualities to pick up. Being able to balance work and relationships with others has always been an issue. A good leader should be able to find the mid-ground to find what brings the best results and prevents conflict within. Allowing the use of helpful advice for followers is a good way to practice this quality.

The seconded quality mention is good judgement. The most important part of this quality for a leader to know what they stand for and believe in. If they are uncertain in their own belief then their followers will begin to doubt them, which will result in a loss of trust. Using your past knowledge allows you to be prepared for all situations that come up and ensure that they are handled within your beliefs.

The final quality is consistency. Consistency is key and that is no difference when it comes to trust. A leader being able to stick to their beliefs. Doing so places a sense of comfort and familiarity into followers which strengthens their trust.

These qualities however are not the only ones that make a leader trustworthy. Everyone has their own strength and weaknesses and all followers have their own view of trust. This is the reason why positive relationships is the most important one as it allows you to get to know what makes this trust form.

With how wide spread our world has become this task seems to have become a lot easier though. Being able to communicate using social media and other networking abilities has made it far similar to connect out of the work place.

Being a trustworthy leader is about being able to back up their ways and be consistent in doing so, but also about connecting with their followers to provide a bond between the two parties.