Yes, But Can They Trust You? (Part 3 of 3)

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My previous two posts have focused on trust as a leader.  I’ve focused on one of NC State’s Poole College of Management professors, Dr. Roger Mayer. Dr. Mayer’s research on trust focuses on three elements: ability, benevolence, and integrity. I have linked the previous posts on ability and benevolence.

The final leg of trust from Dr. Mayer’s research is integrity.  Integrity focuses upon dependability and consistency with values and principles that others find important.   Dependability and consistency is basically doing what you say you are going to do over a prolonged period of time.  Yet if you act dependably in ways that your team does not value, you lose integrity. For example, you lack dependability and consistency if you are flitting from one initiative to another to a third based on the latest book, article, or management fad you’ve read about.  At the same time, if you act consistently in a way that is contrary to what your team values, then you have little to no integrity in their eyes. This is a critical part of culture.

In future posts, we’ll share some specific examples from GEN Shelton and senior leaders from a variety of backgrounds (public service, private and corporate practice, collegiate, and youth).  I’m interested in your examples as well.

What was a situation where you saw a leader demonstrate one or more of the three legs of trust (ability, benevolence, and integrity)?

 

 

Yes, But Can They Trust You? (Part 2 of 3)

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Last week, I outlined Dr. Roger Mayer’s work on trust. He notes that ability is one key factor of growing trust as a leader (click here for part one on ability). In his work in executive education programs at NC State’s Poole College of Management, he notes that many participants want to learn how to create a culture of innovation and trust. He notes that while ability is critical, the second of three factors on growing trust as a leader is benevolence.

According to Dr. Mayer’s research, benevolence relies upon empathy and selflessness.    Empathy focuses upon the relationship between you and the other person. You have to take the time to learn about the other people on your team, their interests outside of work and what is important to them.

Selflessness focuses upon your intentions and motives.  Are you perceived as a “glory hound” or one who hogs the credit for any success? Do you attempt to shift blame if there are any negative impacts on the team’s work?

How have you seen some of the best leaders with whom you’ve worked demonstrate selflessness and empathy?  I look forward to your comments.

Yes, But Can They Trust You? (Part 1 of 3)

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As a leader in today’s widely dispersed work around the globe and around the clock, you must align people, processes, and projects to help achieve your organization’s goals and objectives.  Yet, simply announcing the financial and operational targets is insufficient.  Do you find yourself asking a question like:

  • How can I gain greater commitment from my team members?

Earning your team’s trust is one critical factor to aligning your team and driving for results. One of my colleagues, Dr. Roger Mayer, at North Carolina State University‘s Poole College of Management, has focused his research on growing trust within organizations.  He’s found three key trust factors (ability, benevolence, and integrity) that can increase your organizational velocity and improve bottom-line results.  I’ll outline these three factors in this and the following two posts.

Factor 1: Ability: Ability focuses on one’s critical job-related skills.  As you start your career, these are your technical skills (degrees, patents, articles, or industry certifications). Yet, if you focus solely upon growing and maintaining your technical skills as you lead others, you will derail.

You’ve seen technically brilliant individuals derail when they have to lead others on a team to achieve an objective. One of the reasons they don’t engender trust is that they view each interchange or discussion as a contest to show others that their idea is technically superior to anybody else’s. By focusing on “winning” each interchange, the leader gets the well-deserved reputation as one who cannot be trusted. You must shift from purely technical to a blend of technical and interpersonal abilities.

The higher you go in the organization, you must develop other skills as well. This is difficult for many of us. We were promoted because of our technical skills. One fundamental lesson to remember is that we need to shift more from the answer provider to the questioner.  You have a perspective and a point of view. You may want to consider a previous post on the kinds of questions you might want to ask.

The Surprising Science Behind Motivation

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As a leader, one of your primary tasks is to achieve organizational goals through other people.  Since you can’t do it all alone (really, you can’t-I’ve tried that and have failed miserably), part of your job as a senior executive is to motivate members of your team.  In the “bad old days”, managers and leaders relied on their formal authority roles (I’m the boss-do as I say) as the predominant way to motivate people.  That didn’t work, as any parent of a child over 3 years old can tell you. In today’s work world, many times you are working on a team that has people from various parts of the organization who band together in an ad hoc work group to accomplish a goal, then disband.  How do you help motivate people who don’t report to you?

In this 18 minute video from TED, Daniel Pink gives some surprising science behind motivational theory.  Grab a cup of coffee, soda, or water, and listen in on his TED talk. Mr. Pink is a journalist, who has written extensively about people in work, motivation, and trends in human behavior.

What parts from Mr. Pink’s presentation do you agree or disagree with?

 

 

How Leaders Use Culture in their Organizations to Reinforce Areas of Emphasis

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Last week, I was talking to a local senior executive who was discussing the importance of culture in his organization. He mentioned how important it was for leaders at all levels to understand the key elements of culture when one rolls out a new initiative, reinforcing certain behaviors to accelerate momentum, and to grow one’s team.

He noted, “Nobody is going to change anything simply because you think it is a good idea.  You have to set up and find ways to embed elements of your current culture into your daily work and into the work of your team.  Find ways that your current culture supports what you are looking to do and build on your current strengths.”

How do you do that? One of the leading researchers on culture, Ed Schein, outlines some primary elements and mechanisms that leaders use culture to embed and reinforce areas of emphasis:

  • What leaders pay attention to, measure, and control regularly
  • How leaders react to critical incidents and organizational crises
  • How leaders allocate scarce resources
  • Deliberate role modeling, teaching, and coaching
  • How leaders allocate rewards and status
  • How leaders recruit, select, promote, retire, and excommunicate organizational members

Secondary reinforcement mechanisms include:

  • Organizational design, structure, systems, procedures, rites, rituals.
  • Stories, legends and myths about people and events
  • Physical space, buildings, and facades
  • Formal statements of organizational philosophy, values, and creeds
    (Source: The Corporate Culture Survival Guide, p. 98, Schein, 2009)

How have you seen leaders in organizations use culture to embed culture to reinforce areas of emphasis?