Recently I was meeting with a wonderful group of leaders and we were discussing how to increase influence with those who may not fully be trusting their leadership.
6 Ways To Increase Influence With People Who May Not Fully Trust You
The following are six pieces of advice I gave them:
(Re)Build The Relationship
Do they like you? Ask about their family, their weekend, and how they are doing. Are they just a means to your end? Show some genuine concern. Sheer likability and relational capital may increase trust.
Deepen Trust In Your Character By Apologizing
Have you kept your promises? In the past, did you do what you said you were going to do? Have you kept confidences? Do you have a track record of organizational success? To rebuild trust in this area may require you giving a sincere apology to a person or entire team.
Improve Your Competence
A leader may be able to deliver an inspiring message, create a wonderful culture where everyone gets along, have high character, and model hard work. But if your team realizes you lack competence in your chosen field, they will eventually lose confidence in you.
The phrase you will hear is, “He doesn’t know what he’s doing!” The only solution here may be replacing the leader.
Model Excellence
As the leader, you should be the picture of the desired destination at which others should wish to arrive. You must model hard work, commitment, punctuality, customer service, and anything else related to job performance. Perhaps you have not done so in the past and has cost you trust.
Equip Them
Have those on your team been setup for success? Do they have the tools, training, resources, and intel needed to be proficient at their jobs? If not, have you set them up to fail?
If you have not positioned your team for success, they may not trust you. How do you know if they have everything they need to be successful? First, autopsy the reasons for their missed expectations and be honest about the reasons why. Second, ask them.
Champion Them
There is a discussion in the world of sports as to whether a female coach can be effective in a men’s sport. The feedback I often get is that if a coach can help a player get better, it is a non-factor. All they want is someone who can help them stay in the league and collect those paychecks longer.
If you are not helping your people get better, achieve their goals, or improve their quality of life, they will lose trust in you.
Zig Ziglar famously said, “You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help other people get what they want.”
And one of the things you should want in life is the respect of those you lead.
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