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How do Your Leaders Foster Your Trust?

By on July 21, 2009 in Business, business planning, Perspectives, strategic planning, strategy, Trust, Values

imagesI believe that true leaders foster trust, that leadership is earned, and that it is granted by followers.  “Leadership” is a way of being with people such that others want what the leader stands for.  Leadership is not about position power.  It might be about charisma for awhile, but if the leader does not deliver what is promised, charisma will not hold the followers’ trust.

I just made a significant assertion and would like to test it out.  I would like to know if you see YOUR leaders fostering YOUR trust, and if so, how?  By leaders, I do not mean “representative” leaders, those whom you know only by reputation with whom you have had no personal experience.  I mean leaders whom you follow because of who they are being and what they stand for.  You might have chosen to work at a company because of exceptional leadership and your trust in that individual, or team.  You might attend a particular church because of the minister and their leadership in the area of spirituality.  You might have joined a not for profit because the leader was successful in enrolling you in the cause, and embodied a trusting presence.  I am wondering about your PERSONAL experience of leaders fostering trust.

We have experienced significant disappointment in leaders in recent months who have demonstrated the antithesis of fostering trust.  The newspapers are full of stories about business leaders at AIG, car manufacturers, financial institutions of all kinds, and political leaders who put self-interest before the interest of customers.  Self-interest at a senior executive level does not foster trust!  I have personally seen a great leader painted with the same brush because of the press around poor leadership. These disappointments, although maybe not personal, can damage our willingness to trust.

The issue of leaders fostering trust is subtle and powerful.  If I were to conduct a survey, what issues would I need to include in that survey to generate an understanding of what, in a leader, fosters trust?  I welcome your comments, your questions, your concerns.


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What is, or are, my public personae?

By on June 12, 2009 in Perspectives, strategy

80-20I am engaged in an inquiry with a bunch of people who want to make a difference in the world about what is our public persona? Or, what became evident today in our conference call, is that we have multiple personae — at home we might be perceived one way, whereas at work we’re another way, and at church or in our social networks we’re seen in yet another way.

I wondered about this several years ago, at which time a very good friend of mine recommended a book called “The 80/20 Individual” by Richard Koch. You can go to the recommendations section of my website, click on this book and order it from Amazon.com.

In that book are a series of questions to ask people whom know you fairly well what they think of you. It’s a great exercise, and enlightening, because what they said quite often did not match up with what I thought they would say. Their responses were typically more flattering than what my little mind says about myself. I am thinking about repeating that exercise, to freshen my view of my public personae. At that time I asked about 25 people, which is a sufficient number of inquiries to get a pretty good sense of how I am viewed.

But the next question of our inquiry this morning on the conference call, which is even bigger, is, “Am I willing to be responsible for that persona?” I am expecting the same pattern this time, albeit the answers may be different — that others see me in a more positive light than I see myself. So the question is, will I step into that generosity others grant me and be for myself who I am for others? Hmmm.

Do it with me! I invite you into this inquiry for yourself.  You can share, or not — either way, you will be more of who you are from doing the exercise.  I know that from my personal experience.


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There is No Future in Being Left Behind

By on June 4, 2009 in Perspectives, strategy, Uncategorized

find_us_on_facebook_badge1 I haven’t figured out yet how to get all the juice out of Facebook, and I’ve barely put my toe in  the water of the Twitter world, and I just have enough knowledge about HTML to be dangerous and look! Presto Digito,  I have a website and I’m blogging!

I think that’s pretty amazing, myself… and I welcome your comments, your suggestions — that is how I have gotten where I have gotten.

I have Andrew Powers of Pagelines to thank for the architecture of this website, which I think is brilliant given the rather approximate initial conversation that generated its potential. I have to thank my husband, Larry, for granting me lots of space during the tedious hours of looking at the stuff behind the curtain of this website and wondering what it meant when Andrew wasn’t available to ask.

And I have to acknowledge myself for persisting, and getting off it about techology. I have entered the realm of the internet and social media with a bit of a thud, and here I am, nonetheless.

Welcome to my thoughts, where I am more public about my views than I EVER thought I would be. And it’s all good — I don’t mean all of what I have said is good, I mean that I have said it is good! Please come, bring your views, and let’s go together into a future of sharing.


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