Trust : A pillar of leadership

Trust is a very important factor for all relationships. When trust is broken, it marks the demise of the relationship. Lack of trust leads to suspicion, suspicion generates anger, anger causes enmity and enmity may result in separation...

Leadership is a relationship built and nurtured on trust. In leadership, trust is a two way street. The people being led must be able to trust that their leader is “able to deliver” and the leader must also be able to trust the people, that they will follow him.

Trust is built and developed over time. There are many dimensions to what determines whether people will trust a leader or not. A leader must have in the eyes of the people, the necessary credentials to lead them.

The people’s trust in their leader can be grounded in their evaluation of his/her ability, integrity and benevolence. That is, the more they observe these characteristics in their leader; their level of trust in him/her is likely to grow.

Ability refers to the assessment of the leader’s knowledge, skill or competence .This dimension recognizes that trust requires that the leader is able to perform in a manner that meets his people’s expectations.

Integrity is the degree to which the leader adheres to principles that are acceptable to his people. This dimension leads to trust based on consistency of past actions, credibility of communication and commitment to standards of fairness.

Benevolence is the people’s assessment that their leader is concerned enough about their welfare. Whether he is interested to either advance their interests or at least not impede them.

Honest and open communication, delegating decisions and sharing control are evidences of the leader’s benevolence.

Ability and integrity are likely to be the most influential early in the relationship between the leader and his people, as information on the leader’s benevolence needs more time to emerge.

Evidently, people prefer leaders who are not only competent but who are also of impeccable character. The leader’s character must be solid for him to be trusted. He must be seen as a man of integrity.

A man of integrity is truthful, reliable and never plays to the gallery. He does not just make promises. He says what he means and he means what he says.

Nobody wants to trust a leader who has no backbone. People will trust a leader, who in the face of insurmountable crisis will inspire and motivate. They will trust a leader, who can endure hard times. They will trust a leader, who will not buckle under the weight of adversity.

The manner a leader handles crisis will determine whether the trust the followers have in him will diminish or be enhanced. A leader who crumbles and falls in crisis with his followers will not only lose face but have his “trust bank” seriously depleted.

A leader who falls flat on his face in crisis shows the stuff he is made of. After all, if you fall to pieces in crisis, there was not much to you in the first place. Character makes trust possible and trust makes leadership possible.