It does not matter how well you communicate, how competent you are, or that you treat others with kindness, if other cannot count on you to be responsible, you will not build trust with them. Responsibility is the fourth side of the Trust Cornerstone. There are several facets of responsibility. The first is doing what you are supposed to do. The second facet is doing what you say you will do. Next, take care of the property and resources entrusted to you. The fourth facet is strengthening the other trust competencies that will cause you to fail. The final facet of responsibility is predictability.
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In his book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, the first habit Steven R. Covey discusses is the habit of being proactive. He breaks the word “responsibility” into “response-ability”. In every moment, each of use as the ability to choose our response. In that little space between response and ability, we decide what ability we want to use to respond to what ever faces us at that moment. When others are not around, we can choose to do what we know should be done, or something else. In those moments when no one is watching, you can choose to do the work that is expected of you, or surf the internet reading blog posts or watching random videos. Responsible people, people who build trust with others, complete the tasks that are expected of them. In that moment when they can choose to goof off or complete an expected task, they choose to complete the task.
Following closely on the heels of doing what you are supposed to do, is doing what you say you will do. Completing tasks as promised is also called follow through. Doing what you promise, tells others you can be trusted to help them achieve goals together. Part of this is also acknowledging short falls and accepting the consequences when something prevents you from completing things as promised. Retired Navy SEAL Jocko Willink says that he became a trusted leader because he promised to complete small things and delivered big results.
An important part of trust is to care for things others entrust to your care. The definition I use for trust is a choice to risk something you value to the actions of another based on your belief in their character. Often that ‘something of value’ is a tangible object. How you car the property of others shows respect for them. Taking good care of other’s property shows you are a responsible person who is ready for assignments of greater trust and responsibility.
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For example, a grocery store manager asks a new cashier to take a small deposit to the bank. The manger is probably looking for a couple of things. Of course, the first is that all the money is deposited in the account correctly. Additionally, the manage may watch to see how long it takes the employee to complete the task. You can be the manager knows it normally takes 15 to 25 minutes to go to the bank, complete the transaction and return. When the employee returns in 20 minutes with the deposit slip for the correct amount, he created trust with the store manager.
Being a competent person builds trust. When someone is new on the job, they are expected to know little about things. As time passes, bosses expect people to develop proficiency in key tasks. In the previous example of the bank deposit, when the employee returned to the store in a reasonable amount of time, he demonstrated competency in time management. Pay attention to the things your boss or others repeat. People repeat things they consider important. What things does your organization measure? Work on increasing your skills in those areas and you will build trust with your leaders. The stronger you are in the areas the organization considers important, the more you will be trusted. With increased trust comes greater pay, increased privileges, and promotions. While it is always best to build on your strengths, be aware of your fatal flaws. Fatal flaws are those things you really are not very competent but are valued by the organization. Find ways to strengthen those areas to the minimum level of acceptability.
Predictability is an important aspect of trust. As one becomes more disciplined in repeatedly engaging in responsible behaviors, others come to know they can depend on that person. Only through disciplined repetition of responsible behaviors will others come to trust someone can be characterized as responsible. Predictability is a key component of developing a responsible character trusted by others. Discipline requires one to repeat responsible behaviors even on days the person does not feel responsible.
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In your neighborhood, you no doubt have a person who is known as a runner because people see her out several times each week running. Another person is known as the great helper because they always offer assistance. Of course, there is also the neighborhood jerk who never has anything nice to say nor ever lifts a finger to help another. All of these characterizations are from repeated behaviors that result in a level of predictability.
Developing responsible behaviors creates trust with others. You develop a reputation of being responsible by doing what you are supposed to do. Responsible people do what they say they will do. Care for things that are entrusted to you, whether those things are someone ease’s time, money, or other resources. Find ways to increase your competence in areas important in your organization. Be predicable through disciplined responsible behaviors especially when you do not feel like being responsible. All these little steps demonstrate to others you are responsible. Responsible people are trusted by others. You will fail from time-to-time, but as you continue to work on these skills, you find ways to make being responsible, easier. In turn others trust you more. You become responsible simply by deciding you are going to do something a responsible person would do. It is a choice only you can make in any and every situation in life. Make the right choice. Be responsible.
References
- Bossidy, L. & Charan, R. (2002). Execution: the discipline of getting things done. Crown Business. New York, NY
- Brooks, D. (2015). The road to character. Random House, New York, NY.
- Covey, S (1989). The 7 habits of highly effective people. Fireside. New York, NY.
- St. Cyr, C (2021). Trust: the cornerstone of leadership. Blog post. Retrieved from https://saintcyrtraining.com/2021/11/30/trust-the-cornerstone-of-leadership/ on 1/22/24
- Willink, J. & Babin, L. (2015). Extreme ownership. St. Martin’s Press. New York, NY.
(c) 2024 Christopher St. Cyr
He told his classmates he devised a simple system using spreadsheet software to track employee issues. Every morning he made a list of people to contact to follow up on those issues ensuring they were addressed. His actions allowed employees to focus on their work, not their problems. His habit of tracking people’s problems and checking with them periodically, resulted in a reputation of being a compassionate leader. He only spoke with others who had a reason to know about the problem in order to provide support to the employee or help resolve the problem. He did not gossip. His habit of keeping his mouth shut gained him the reputation of being trustworthy. His habits and actions told others the story of how he felt about resolving people’s problems, not a speech delivered from a soapbox about being there to help his people. His character was defined by what he did, not what he said.
Power is commonly obtained in one of a few ways. The first is positional power, that which an organization give an individual in supervisory positions. Another is expert power. If you are an expert by means of knowledge on a topic, or possess a critical skill that you use and share. You sway others by your expertise. A third source of power is attraction. That ability some people have to draw the positive attention from others and to make others want to be liked by them. Often called charisma, it enables those endowed with it to influence people by bestowing attention on those seeking their approval. A final source of power is reward and punishment. This sounds like something a boss can do, such as providing a wage increase, or dismissing an employee. In this example it is not someone in a position of authority. People who use rewards and punishment for power include people like playground bullies, or a grass roots community activist. Each finds ways to reward and punish people they influence outside traditional organizational structures. Some example include using force in the case of the bully, or endorsing a political candidate in the case of the activist. These rewards and punishments lack official sanction. The power comes from the personal traits of the individual such as strength or speaking ability. 
Learning to develop power across several sources is a skill necessary to influence others. Each has benefits and limitations depending on the skill of the wielder, the situation, and the audience. Each is a tool. One cannot build a house only using a saw; likewise, one cannot lead well with only one source of power.
This story illustrates the importance of knowing your audience and the message they need to hear. As the instructor pointed out, if the message is what the candidates needed to request to install a flagpole, the communication is different than directing a Soldier to emplace the flagpole. Of course if the Soldiers were less experienced than the Platoon Sergeant, the instructor needed to provide more direction. The senior person in the story understood he was directing another experienced person to complete a task. Detailed instructions were not required.
confronting unacceptable behaviors and addressing uncomfortable truths, such as failures to reach revenue expectations. Setting standards is action. Leaders execute by jumping in, getting their hands dirty and shoes messy. Doing something dirty is action. Leaders develop power and influence by doing things; acting, not just talking and planning. If you are not doing, you are not leading. Leading is a verb. Verbs are action. Actions, executed properly at the right time by the right right people result in success. You can plan. You can talk. You can be virtuous. You accomplish nothing until you act.
There is more to wandering than aimlessly walking around. For LBWA to be effective you have to wonder around the areas and among the people least likely to otherwise have access to you or that you would ordinarily see. People only bring problems to accessible leaders. You have to be accessible to hear people’s concerns.
velopment classes, I teach a segment on the importance of using your voice. Trying to write a wimpy presenters fast pace, low volume and even monotone speech is more difficult than demonstrating it for a class. There are many reasons people use poor vocal skills while presenting such as lack of confidence in front of others, inexperience as a presenter and contempt for the topic. The opposite is also true. Speaking at a rapid pace in a loud volume continuously sounds like you are recording a commercial for the latest monster truck rally. Three cliches come to mind when considering the use of one’s voice during a presentation. The first is “Slow is smooth and smooth is fast”. The second, “Variety is the spice of life.” The final, “Silence is Golden.”
Little Leadership Lessons 