1.5 - About University

Trusting otherspredisposes them totrusting you.Trusting only flourishesin a respectful environment.Trust is based onintegrity and honesty.Trust does not meanperfection.Trust is built on longtermgoodwill.Behavior begets behavior; trusting others predisposes them to trust you. Thus, listening toothers helps ready them to listen to you. If you want others to share information with you,start by sharing your information with them. Where people are involved, nothing works allof the time, but this is a useful guideline.Trust can only grow in an environment of goodwill, respect, and willingness to work onyour relationship with another person. Without these elements in place, trust atrophies.Conflict resolution strategies either make things worse or have only minimal impact.People trust people who are loyal to their espoused values. Integrity and honesty sometimesdemand frustrating compromise among loyalties—to your values, to a relationship, to anorganization, and so on. Manage these compromises carefully, not denying your ownperceptions, nor taking the burden of someone else’s problem on your own shoulders.Leaders don’t have to be perfect to be trustworthy. All leaders sometimes fall short of otherpeople’s expectations, and even of their own expectations. See your mistakes as learningopportunities or as temporary and isolated events, rather than as proof that there’s aninherent flaw in your character.People tend to trust people who have a positive goodwill balance in the relationship bankwith them. [☛ 12.1 The Relationship Bank] That is, if you make deposits in your workingrelationship by being supportive, reliable, and so on, then it won’t be quite as damagingwhen you make a withdrawal (e.g., make a mistake). Without a balance in the bank,however, a withdrawal damages the relationship. Having a lot of positives on depositdoesn’t mean that people won’t get upset with you, but that they will likely listen moreobjectively, and will give you the benefit of the doubt.H OW TO USE THIS LEADERSHIP TOOL“You demonstrate your trust in others through your actions—how much you check and control their work, howmuch you delegate and allow people to participate. Individuals who are unable to trust other people often fail tobecome leaders. … Conversely, [leaders] who trust others too much may also fail, because they can lose touchand a sense of connectedness to their team. Delegation becomes abdication.”—James Kouzes and Barry Posner, THE LEADERSHIP CHALLENGEHere is a self-assessment of some behavioral measures of trust. It is easy to delude oneself aboutone’s own behavior; this assessment is best reviewed with a coach or others who will give youfeedback.WEB WORKSHEETA LEADER’ S T RUST S ELF-ASSESSMENTMy self-assessmentTrust behavior (0 = poor to 10 = great) Improvement actionsI am open with informationand rarely withhold it. 0 | | | | 5 | | | | 10I give new people thebenefit of the doubt, and trust 0 | | | | 5 | | | | 10them until given reason not to.[☛ 8.1 Conversations][☛ 15.2 Emotional Intelligence]SECTION 12 TOOLS FOR LEADING RELATIONSHIPS 367