Leadership and trust are critical to building effective working relationships.
Hyler Bracey’s book Building Trust discusses how to get it and keep it.
In discussing trust, let's define some terms. Webster defines trust as "firm reliance in the honesty, dependability, strength or character of someone."
Hyler Bracey builds on Webster's definition to create a working definition of trust:
Bracey's theories on the relationship between leadership and trust are listed below:
“Managers and executives desperately need a basic method for building trust in the workplace.”
“We discovered if you could build trust into a relationship, it served as the oil that allowed all the machinery to work.”
“Experience is often a necessary component if you want to build trust, but it is not sufficient to make it happen.”
“Trust can only be built through appropriate interaction over time.”
“Trust happens primarily between people. It takes not one person, but two to create mutual trust.”
“Mutual trust is much more desirable than one-sided trust.”
“High trust cannot be built simply on power, position, experience, expertise or fiat. Much more goes into the theory – and reality – of a trusting relationship than any of these.”
“Trust and teamwork remain prerequisites for any genuine transformation of an organization.”
“You will not want, need, nor be expected to develop a trusting relationship with every person in the company.”
I had the priviledge of leading a group of leaders through Hyler Bracey's Book "Building Trust" and examine principles that are foundational to building trust in relationships.
This book offers practical ways to apply the concepts in real work situations, including giving and receiving feedback.
It is a must read and one of my top picks. If this book is not in your collection/library, I encourage you to add it today.
According to the American Library Association, being trustworthy is a trait characteristic of good leaders.
For a leader to be trusted, they must be credible. To learn more about the components of credibility, please see Leadership Traits .
Leadership and Trust are critical ingredients for building highly productive teams.