The law of solid ground, from John Maxwell’s book, The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, states “Trust is the foundation of leadership“. So if you are developing yourself as a leader, what are you doing to become more trustworthy?
Trust is gained by being consistent, being competent, and being positively connected with others.Trust is given to you by others. It is not developed within yourself. Who do you trust? Take a moment to make a list of some of the reasons you trust them.
To make yourself more trustworthy, you need to develop your character. Your character will display to others the traits that will make you trustworthy.
1. Consistency: Your decisions and actions are driven by your values. Knowing your values and following your values will make you more consistent.
2. Competency: Without developing the required skills, people will find it difficult to trust you. Would you have surgery performed by someone that has not developed the proper skills? In the same manner, people rarely follow people that have not developed their leadership skills.
3. Connection: Trust is all about how people see you. Putting other people first, and creating a positive relationship will enable the connection you need for trust.
Today, think about who you are. Practice becoming the person you want to be, and people will identify you as being trustworthy.