Who Should You Trust and Why Should They Trust You?
Today's second topic is a book review and the remarkable visionary leadership of the Founding Fathers – The Return of George Washington: Uniting the States, 1783-1789
Word Count: About 800 words, with an approximate reading time of 3 to 5 minutes. Please share your thoughts in the comments. Please be kind and subscribe to my newsletter.
A recent study explored how to know who to trust at work. There are many articles on leadership trust. Only a small number of them focus on the reality that trust is received only when it is given.
Leadership begins with trust. People need to know that their leaders can make good decisions and that those decisions are based on what is best for the organization and the team. They must also know they are trusted and empowered to do the work.
To be trusted, leaders must communicate effectively and with integrity. Team members know that not all information can be shared, but what is shared has to be true. Leaders need to craft objectives that allow everyone to achieve success. Life is a Venn diagram. The most effective leaders create the largest overlap between personal and team member success. Effective leaders must also be willing to listen to and learn from their teams. When teams see their leaders adapt to new information, confidence increases.
The trust obligation extends to team members. Leaders need to believe that their teams are working toward the objectives. Articles appear every day about people who are quiet quitting or following orders to the letter. They do this knowing that the company or the customer could be harmed. Companies must be on the lookout for the people in the bottom 10% who cannot be trusted. Certain policies and procedures exist to measure these behaviors. The 90% need to understand this and realize that these policies are not an individual judgment on trust.
Trust is fragile and must be handled with care. The trust you lose minutes may take weeks, months, or years to recover. Sometimes never.
The Return of George Washington: Uniting the States, 1783-1789 by Edward J. Larson
America's founding fathers were remarkable visionaries. They created an entirely new form of government and wagered everything on making it a reality. If the British military had defeated the Colonial Army, the founders surely would have been hanged for treason.
The second remarkable demonstration of leadership came shortly after the Revolutionary War. Almost immediately, it became clear to the founders that the Articles of Confederation were ineffective and destined to fail. They were able to focus on the vision and not the execution. They did not let their egos or pride of ownership in the Articles interfere with realizing the democratic ideals they envisioned.
Too often in business, leaders cannot admit mistakes. They double down on flawed ideas or implementations to save face. Washington, Jefferson, Adams, Franklin, and the others did not fall victim to this thinking.
Mr. Larson's book tells the story of George Washington's pivotal role in building consensus for calling the Constitutional Convention. Washington set many of the precedents that helped make the vision a reality. Everyone accepts the fact that Washington was a great leader, but few understand all of the things he did to be great.
A link to order your copy is available on the Recommended Reading page of my website.
What I'm Up To
We are taking a short vacation to explore a small part of the Kentucky Bourbon Train. We are focusing on Bardstown. My family history is directly tied to this city. Shortly after the Revolutionary War, Captain Richard Rapier led a group of settlers and helped found Bardstown. One of the distilleries we are touring is Jim Beam. When my father was a teenager in the 1930s, he had a job washing bottles at their plant.
We are also visiting Nashville and visiting several iconic music venues. I am most excited to be at the Bluebird Café.
Chips and Salsa: Snack-sized news and posts
Wisdom ages well.
Farnan Street - Wisdom Never Expires
Age is a matter of perspective.
The Atlantic - How old you think you are is not how old you are.
Kurt Vonnegut on automation.
NPR - The parallels between Vonnegut's science fiction and our modern day world.
Venting is a waste of time. Conversations about how to improve the situation are not.
Inc - Friends don't let friends vent.
It only takes a few untrustworthy people to ruin it for the rest of us.
Slate - Multiple jobs and remote work?
Quotes
"When we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better too."
- Paulo Coehlo
"Without ambition one starts nothing. Without work one finishes nothing. The prize will not be sent to you. You have to win it."
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
You can order The Leader With A Thousand Faces on the Recommended Reading Page of my website.
My goal is to make this newsletter as interesting and valuable as possible. Please share your thoughts and suggestions for improvement. If there are specific topics in leadership you would like me to focus on in future issues, please send them my way.
