Sixteen Trust-Building Tips

You can't lead if your employees, team or followers don't trust you.

Building trust takes energy, effort and constant attention to how you act.

To help build trust, follow these 16 tips, recommended by author Susan H. Shearouse:

Be honest
Keep commitments and keep your word
Avoid surprises
Be consistent with your mood
Be your best
Demonstrate respect
Listen
Communicate
Speak with a positive intent
Admit mistakes
Be willing to hear feedback
Maintain confidences
Get to know others
Practice empathy
Seek input from others
Say "thank you"

Comments

Book Review: The Elephant In The Room

Diana McLain Smith's new book, The Elephant in the Room , explains how relationships make or break the success of leaders and organizations. It's not a light right. For those who really want to understand relationships, however, this book, based on Smith's clinical research and a wealth of in-depth observational studies, is both insightful and worth the effort. Smith explains that when people click or clash, we typically chalk it up to chemistry and leave it at that. But, she knows there are many dynamics within that relationship that need understanding by a leader to create success. In fact, she says it's possible to identify and analyze the seemingly mysterious ingredients that go into the makings of a relationship. And, given the right tools, it's possible to understand what happens when a relationship forms, and then to actually anticipate what might happen next . That anticipation is critical, claims Smith. Smith also shows read...

Decision-Making Lessons From History

As seen on Public Television, the book, Decisions , by Robert L. Dilenschneider , features vignettes on 23 individuals who made decisions that shaped the world. Each chapter offers practical thinking on how these women and men made decisions. You can use their decision-making skills as guidance at work, in your leadership role, and in your daily life. You’ll learn decision making tips from Harry Truman , Margaret Thatcher , Mohammed Ali , Rachel Carson , Pablo Picasso and others who made decisions during war and peace, and in fields of science, commerce and invention. Author Dilenschneider suggests takeaways about decision-making from each featured historical figure. Some of my favorite decision-making lessons from history and from the book include these: Own your decisions . Be responsible for them and for their implications. Do not be reactionary—that is, making decisions to spite others or because of outside pressure—but do be r...

Q&A With Best Selling Author And Expert Storyteller, Paul Smith

Paul Smith Paul Smith's book, Lead with a Story , is one of the top 10 books I recommend every leader should read. In his book, Paul demonstrates how storytelling is a powerful business tool that can mean the difference between mediocre results and phenomenal success. Since the book was published about three years ago, my admiration for Paul's passion for storytelling and helping to teach people how to effectively tell stories has only but grown. Today, Paul was kind enough to share his thoughts about: that best-selling book how storytelling is growing in the business world his latest book how to use stories during job interviews how Lead with a Story totally changed his carreer 1. How would you summarize the overall reaction to your Lead with a Story book? Any surprises? Paul : Everything is a surprise with your first book. Being a new author, you don’t really know what to expect in terms of book sales, marketing effort...

One Minute Mentoring

Fortunately, I've benefited from having great mentors throughout my career. And, I've have the honor and good fortune to be a mentor, both formally and informally, for various individuals the past few decades. Mentoring is powerful. Both being a mentor. And, being mentored. That's why I became an instant fan of the book, One Minute Mentoring: How to Find and Work With a Mentor -- and Why You'll Benefit from Being One . The book presents a fictional parable about the power of finding, or being, a mentor. In what is about a one- to two-hour read, you'll gain knowledge and easy-to-use tools for how to find and leverage mentoring relationships . Ken Blanchard You'll also learn why developing effective communication and relationships across generations through mentoring can be a tremendous opportunity for companies and individuals alike. Bestselling author, Ken Blanchard, Ph.D . teamed up with Claire Diaz-Ortiz to write One Mi...

Business And Life Lessons From Entrepreneur Miguel Leal

What I like most about Miguel Leal ’s memoir, aside from its overall compelling and inspiring information, are the business and life lessons he shares. Those lessons are found throughout his recently released memoir, The House That Cheese Built . The book is a quintessential American dream story from a Mexican entrepreneur who shares the tale of building a multi-million-dollar business from scratch, complete with both success and failure, and always a vision of hope. Leal came to the U.S. penniless as a teenager, speaking almost no English; he literally slept in the boiler room of a Wisconsin cheese factory for months before he was caught. Through hard work, grit, and ingenuity Leal would go on to launch his own business. He is widely credited with introducing Mexican cheeses to the U.S. market and grew his company to a multimillion-dollar success story that defined an industry. Yet, like many successful entrepreneurs, Leal’s great successes were matched by a variety of ...

Book Review & Highlights: Leadership Conversations

When I read business books, I turn the corner of every page that has something I really like, want to remember and easily reference in the future. Halfway into the 300-page book, Leadership Conversations , I had turned the corners of nearly every fifth pages. So, you can see why I believe this is such a good book. There is so much to learn from Leadership Conversations . It's a must read for today's business leaders. Leaders who are leading multi-generational workforces. And, leaders who want the skills to get promoted and move up the corporate ladder. Authors Alan S. Berson and Richard G. Stieglitz wrote the book because they believe that a leader's most powerful skill is the ability to hold effective conversations . So, in their book, they detail the four types of conversations every leader must effectively master . Conversations that: Buil...

Book Review: Conflict 101

Handling conflict is one of the most difficult things a leader has to deal with. Unfortunately, conflict in the workplace is inevitable. In fact, research shows that 42 percent of a manager's time is spent addressing conflict . And, over 65 percent of performance problems are caused by employee conflicts . Managers new in their leadership role typically have had little to no training on how to deal with conflict. Fortunately, in Susan H. Shearouse's new book, Conflict 101 , you can learn: How conflict is created How we respond to conflict How to management conflict more effectively Shearouse explains that even though conflict is inevitable, it can lead to both growth and progress . "There is little progress that is not preceded by some kind of conflict," says Shearouse. I found particularly helpful in the book the definitions of the following five different types of conflict and then how best to deal with each: Problems to solve Disagreem...

How To Achieve Success Through The Power Of One More

“You are one more intentional thought and action away from discovering your best life,” explains author of the new book, The Power Of One More , by Ed Mylett – released earlier this summer. “You can find your best life by doing ‘one more’ than the world expects from you,” he adds. In his book, he further explains that your individual thoughts and actions you take don’t need to be profound. However, when you compound these small thoughts and actions and stack them up on top of each other, the resulting changes over time are profound. Mylett reveals strategies chapter by chapter and covers goal setting, habits, emotions, relationships, are more. Strategies include those on how to: Slow down time and spot new opportunities Use time to your fullest advantage Find deeper purpose in life Be sure to check out Chapters 15 and 16, which focus on leadership . Within those, Mylett shares his thoughts about leadership: You are a leader if y...

Twenty-five Of My Favorite Leadership Quotes

All year during 2012, I collected my favorite quotes about leadership from Twitter. When the year ended, I published the list. So, for today's leadership flashback , among the thousands of tweets and retweets on Twitter about leadership during 2012 these 25 were my favorites. A mix of advice from some unknown individuals along with many from leadership book authors and famous leadership experts, and a few from past U.S. presidents and current-day athletes. Great leaders know the power of asking questions. Lead with your heart, not just your head. Learn to let go of fear and embrace the unknown. People are much more impressed by your potential than by your track record. Smart leaders use the power of stories whenever they have important messages to convey. To be effective, leaders have to close the conversational gap with their employees. One of the tests of leadership is the ability to recognize a problem before it becomes an emergency -- Arnold Glasow Managers...

Leadership Lessons From Abraham Lincoln

Did Abraham Lincoln really say, " Get out of the office and circulate among the troops ," back in 1861? He did. But, not in those exact words. What he said, according to author Donald T. Phillips , is this: "His cardinal mistake is that he isolates himself, and allows nobody to see him; and by which he does not know what is going on in the very matter he is dealing with." Lincoln made this statement when describing his reason for relieving Gen. John C. Fremont from his command in Missouri (September 9, 1861). Phillips writes that for Lincoln, casual contact with his subordinates was as important as formal gatherings, if not more so. Phillips, includes many more leadership lessons from Lincoln in his fascinating book, Lincoln on Leadership , where Phillips presents 15 of Lincoln's leadership statements in today's vernacular . Another leadership lesson from Lincoln is to: Influence people through conversation and storytelling Phi...

Eric Jacobson On Management And Leadership

Search This Blog