Trust – hard to gain, easy to lose – is the foundation on which leadership is built. As leaders, building real trust with our teams is even more challenging, yet more critical. How do we truly gain the Trust of our people as a Leader?
There are many characteristics and tools of great Leadership. However, I think one of the most straightforward and effective ways to gain your people’s trust is through modeling a “Tone of Accountability.” You see, when your team sees you as the Leader take accountability for your actions, and more importantly, be open about it, they too feel they can open up. When weas leaders own our mistakes, we create space for others to do the same without fear of retribution. They can TRUST you.
As a Fighter Pilot and Lieutenant Colonel in the United States Air Force, I had to gain the trust of the people I taught, led, and flew with. We all had to have trust in one another in the very high-reliability organization of flying high-performance military fighter aircraft. That trust was reinforced and built even stronger when we could admit our missteps and more importantly, show a desire to get better. Especially as a Leader.
As an Instructor Pilot teaching young men and women how to fly high-performance jet aircraft for the very first time, bringing down these barriers to communication in the debrief in order to admit mistakes was a challenge. The best way I found to do this was by first offering up some better ways I could have instructed them. In other words, holding myself accountable for their performance due to my lack of proper instruction.
Immediately, this vulnerability would prompt these young officers to share openly where they struggled, and then realize they could put trust in me as their Instructor and Leader. This ultimately proved to be a much more valuable training environment.
Human factors research has proven that trust within an organization is what binds us together as a team. It sets in that tribal mentality of working together to survive and ultimately thrive. A “Trust and Growth” culture is the exact opposite of the outdated “Blame and Train” approach to Leadership.
Trust in Leadership is essential. Without it, struggles fester, the team suffers, and you can’t truly LEAD anyone. Leaders MUST be able to display accountability of themselves in front of their people before that trust is bought.
My methodology of Human Factors Leadership provides a framework for this “Trust and Growth” Culture. By embedding a peer accountability mindset with mutual support, and continually improving performance with a “Tone of Accountability” Debrief Culture, Leaders can take their teams to the next level of a High-Performing Team.
www.brandonwilliamsspeaker.com | bwilliams@lead-tac.com
Brandon Williams graduated from the US Air Force Academy, and is an accomplished leadership business speaker, business owner, and adjunct professor in human factors. As a decorated Lieutenant Colonel in the United States Air Force, he led men and women from diverse backgrounds and managed millions of dollars in assets. As an F-15E Fighter Pilot, Brandon flew hundreds of combat hours and missions over the skies of Iraq and Afghanistan, operating in some of the most challenging and dynamic environments imaginable.
Over the past few years, Brandon has built his speaking and coaching business to become an accomplished keynote leadership speaker. Having taught at several universities for almost 15 years as an expert in Human Factors, he leverages his in-depth knowledge of human performance analysis to equip leaders for uncertainty and change.
