Leaders, don’t just expect to be followed

Leaders ask a lot of their followers. People are asked to follow leaders into the unknown or the potentially perilous, change working habits or attitudes, and commit to the team and the organisation. Following a leader requires them to demonstrate faith, persevere through difficulty, cooperate, and collaborate.

Without buy-in, however, people won’t follow a leader towards a change, commitment, nor collaboration. Why? Because buy-in requires trust and trust is the glue that binds followers to their leader. It creates committed individuals and prevents negative workplace experiences.

Building versus commanding trust

I recently visited two different teams within the same organisation. Both were led by capable individuals. In one location, the leader was actively working to build trust. She regularly held team meetings, and they all ate lunch together once a week. She kept the lines of communication open and was always as transparent as possible with the team, in good times and in bad. The team was engaged, informed, and working to add value to colleagues in other parts of the business.

In the other team, people did not leave their office or cubicle. There was no spontaneous conversation in the hallways. People did not collaborate; rather they worked in silo, simply following instructions with no questions asked or reasons given. Unsurprisingly, their leader was uncommunicative and kept themselves behind closed doors, commanding trust from their team by virtue of their leadership title alone. Tasks were being accomplished, but the enthusiasm and engagement just was not there.

How you can build trust as a leader

Teams can’t be commanded to trust. Trust must be earned in ways that are meaningful to the team. As a leader, you can build trust with these actions:

1. Understand and meet the standards of others:

We usually strive to meet our personal standards, the standards we judge others against. But what about meeting the standards of others?

For example, if timeliness has been important in your organisation and you’re constantly late for meetings, you are not meeting the standards of your team, damaging their trust in your ability to live up to their standards.

2. Maintain a narrow “say-do” gap:

Keep the difference between what you say you’re going to do and what you actually do, as narrow as possible. Be consistent. When you promise the report by Thursday, make it happen Thursday. If you constantly go back on your word, you will lose credibility as a leader.

3. Clearly communicate intent and expectations:

Don’t assume or take for granted that people know what they are supposed to do. Communicate your expectations and your intentions consistently, and welcome questions or concerns. Ensure everyone is on the same page, so that people can act in ways that are consistent with the intent of the project even when you’re not around.

4. Hold people accountable:

Accountability is hard, but it isn’t personal, or unfair. With clear, well communicated standards and expectations, holding people accountable simply entails comparing their performance to the standard. Holding people accountable also creates opportunities to develop individuals and elevate team performance.

In summary, don’t just show up and expect to be followed. Leaders must earn trust through setting a standard of transparency, openness and efficiency, and upholding this standard themselves in everything that they say and do.

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