More and more often I find that a centerpiece of leadership training we design for clients focuses on trust – understanding it and understanding how to build it. When thinking about trust, the following quotation from Ralph Waldo Emerson comes to mind:
“Our distrust is very expensive.”
I love that thought, but with all due respect to the late great Mr. Emerson, let’s make it more real and more personal:
“My distrust is very expensive.”
Thinking about distrust as a verb and in the first person puts the responsibility where it belongs – on us.
That mindset should force us to ask some important questions, specifically about how we lead our teams and whether our own lack of trust is hurting morale and productivity. Ask yourself:
- Whom do I distrust?
- Why?
- What is it costing me, my team, my relationship with employees, and our organization?
- What can I do to lessen the cost, change the distrust into trust, and improve the situation?
The answers can be very illuminating if you are totally honest with yourself. If you are struggling to trust the people you work with, read this article “Are You Acting from Gratitude, Love, and Trust or Doubt and Fear?” to shift your thought process.
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