When Time ran an article on the surging popularity of Jorge Ramos in the growing Latino viewing audience in America, Ramos was asked what question would break him. From one reporter to another Michael Scherer asked him, “What would be his undoing?”

Ramos requested time to consider the question, and as the article shares, about an hour later he recounts a story he overheard in a local Miami supermarket. Ramos was standing behind a couple speaking Spanish who were discussing the rumour that Fidel Castro had died. Unaware that Ramos was within earshot the man turned to his partner and says “Until Ramos says that, I won’t believe it.”

Ramos told Scherer “What would break me is if people stop trusting me.”

Regaining trust is an important skill for leaders. Knowing the ingredients trust is just as important.

Over time this has a significant impact on your team, your organisation and your environment. Trust isn’t something you take for granted, its absence is highly visible, and maintaining it is a priority for all leaders. You can do that by leveraging this model.

Trust | Master Model

Trust Master Model

This requires the following leadership traits:

  • Integrity: Be the same inside and out.
  • Consistency: People know who they are going to get.
  • Longevity: Do the right things for a long enough period of time.

Trust is the combination of integrity, consistency and longevity. Be all three.

You need to BE these things first. Trust is a combination of these elements. They are not commodities, they are traits of the greats so to speak. When you are BEING the three traits above (integrity, consistency and longevity) in and with your team, the combined affect of them creates an atmosphere where trust will be the by-product.

Integrity | Being the same person in private and public.

When your value system and behaviour line up, there is an alignment that is both felt and experienced by people. There is a sense of calm IN you and AROUND you as a leader. Be transparent about the use of money, the leveraging of people and your personal integrity. Be aligned in your internal and your external world. Be upfront about what you stand for (and what you don’t stand for) This kind of integrity gives people confidence over time. It makes knowing you easier, working with you better and leading together more effective. Integrity is a make or break trait for a leader and for developing trust.

Consistency | People know who they are going to get.

To my grandmother I was always the most handsome, most wonderful, most delightful, most inspiring grandchild she EVER had (Doris always emphasised ever!) And I was one of her 16 grandchildren who all felt the same. I always felt like I was special around her because she was that way with everyone, including people we would meet in the shopping centre. With Doris you were always going to be treated as special, intelligent and beautiful. You could bet on that. Your people need to know who they are going to get when they interact with you, and for that to be pretty close to the same every time.

Longevity | Doing the right things for a long enough.

Recently a colleague of mine finished a role he had been doing for 27 years. Nearly three decades of consistent aligned leadership that has literally impacted two generations. He stayed long enough and focused enough to do his role incredibly well. He has seen many leaders raised up and sent to a number of parts of the globe to continue with some seriously significant work.

Tim has quite simply done enough of the right things for a long time to have created a powerful level of trust and confidence in his work. He impacted me nearly 30 years ago and continues to mentor me now. That’s longevity.

When you maintain these three traits you provide yourself the best opportunity to create an environment where the following is true.

  • Confidence: When you combine integrity with consistency.
  • Belief: When you have integrity and longevity.
  • Momentum: When you link consistency with longevity.

Confidence | From your team for your leadership.

When you are a leader of integrity and do this consistently over time people begin to have confidence in you and your leadership. Confidence answers a number of significant questions for people that in many ways, they only ever ask intuitively. Can I follow you? Can I trust you? Are you for me? Do you care? These and many other questions are asked by people in their head and heart while you lead them. You build the confidence of your team through consistency of your leadership.

Belief | In your leadership of them and the organisation.

When you have integrity and you keep at it for a long period of time, people begin to believe in you and in your intentions for the organisation. One of the temptations of leadership is to leverage the organisation for personal gain rather than serve the organisation so it can accomplish its mission. When people experience you as a leader of integrity, they see the longevity of this.

Momentum | For the shared mission and movement you are leading.

Momentum is a beautiful gift that any team delights in. John Maxwell says that, “With momentum you look better than what you are and without momentum you look much worse than what you are”. When you are the same over a long period of time you continue to stoke the fire of mission achievement. You can build up teams of people, leaders, followers, partners, market share, and consumer confidence. They all serve to build the momentum of your mission. And with momentum, you’ll look better than what you really are.

QUESTION:

Which of these ingredients of trust is most important to you right now? I’d love you to share your thoughts.