Trust: The Bridge Between Leader and Follower
Did you forget something?Â
In our quest to become better leaders, we often forget the most fundamental thing that makes us leaders: followers!Â
They stand at the heart of the very definition of âleader.â So, this week, we circle back to basics for insights on how to cultivate your followership. This information comes directly from our newest book, Innovative Leadership & Followership in the Age of AI.Â
One of the key actions an effective leader takes to enhance followership is building trust. Trust is essential for forging strong relationships with anyone, and thatâs doubly so between leaders and followers. We enter every trust relationship as both the trustor and trustee; while gaining the other personâs trust, we are also determining how much we can trust them.
Mary Jo Burchard, Ph.D. of Fresno Pacific and Regent Universities, and founder of leadership consultancy Concord Solutions, sees six dimensions to trust:
Like anything worthwhile, trust takes time to build â doubly so if past actions violated any of these dimensions. But authenticity comes first on the list for a reason: if you genuinely put effort into building trust, your team will sense that honesty and grant you grace during the inevitable stumbles that happen on the way.
What are some of the specific actions youâve taken to build trust at work? What did a boss do for you that created instant trust? Let us know in the comments; weâd love to hear from you!
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Co-authors Neil Grunberg and Erin Barry go into greater depth on followership in our book. Itâs available in paperback at https://amzn.to/3M4Iybj, or as an audiobook at https://amzn.to/3Vko2IW.
We also interviewed Dr. Burchard about trust in our podcast; listen to her episode at https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-x2bqi-133c315.
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Well said
Thank you for sharing
Well shared
Well said
So true