Trust in business leaders appears to be at an all-time low, the impact of which is being felt across the business world. As trust is a key aspect of leadership, Alistair Cox, Hays CEO, states how business leaders can develop and build trust among their followers.
All successful relationships, in and outside of work, rely on trust. It is an extremely important factor when conducting business, with people being far less likely to work with someone they find untrustworthy. Alistair states that trust is something that must be earned and is essential to leadership, in his latest LinkedIn Influencer blog.
Due to social media, the world today is always connected and as a result business leaders are under much more scrutiny than ever before. A mistake from a CEO or senior leader within a business can be reported on and shared thousands of times, destroying trust in mere minutes. Alistair states this is why trust is essential to being a successful leader and why CEOs must be asking themselves how they can build it among their staff and stakeholders.
Alistair asserts that in order to be a trusted leader, people need to be able to have an insight into the real person, saying, “Leadership is all about trust. And trust, to be genuine, must be earned rather than expected or demanded. I’ve always believed that in order to be perceived as a leader that followers feel they can trust, they need to have an insight into the real you. People are perceptive and if they think they are dealing with a façade, they won’t really know what lies beneath and it’s difficult to trust someone or something you think may not be genuine.”
Leaders who are not genuine run the risk of their façade slipping, challenging workers perception of their character. A sudden change in personality or behaviour will damage any trust you have built, as you will be seen as someone who can’t be trusted.
Alistair explains, “Morale and productivity suffers, as your employees won’t know which version of you they are going to experience day-to-day or hour-to-hour. This can be extremely unsettling for everyone concerned as they seek to work out quite who it is that they are dealing with.”
Alistair shares his own tips that have helped him to be an authentic leader over the years, in turn leading to more trusting relationships.
- Take a long hard look in the mirror, and accept and be comfortable with what you see
Alistair explains, “I think a key part of being a real and authentic leader is knowing and understanding who you are (inside and outside of work), what you’re good at, and what you’re not so good at.”
Alistair adds, “As part of this honest self-reflection, you also need to understand that you’ve got to develop your own unique leadership style. For most of us, this is a lifelong journey of constant evolution and improvement.”
- Be selective in revealing what comes naturally to you
Alistair says, “Stressful situations are the best way of stripping away any veneer. We are at our most genuine, real and authentic when we are upset, or in a bad mood or under sustained pressure to deliver. It’s in these instances when people will see other bits of the real you. It is exactly for this reason that it is on these occasions when you need to operate with the most self-awareness.”
- Show your passion
Alistair explains, “Authentic leaders aren’t afraid to show their passion and this tends to shine through in their personality almost effortlessly… Genuine passion is an integral part of who a person is, so it’s nearly unavoidable to demonstrate this passion without sharing some of who you are as a person.”
- Don’t pretend to be perfect at everything
Alistair says, “This builds trust, makes you approachable and makes staff feel valuable and appreciated. Be careful though – as the leader you are expected to have a grip on most, if not all, things. You want your staff to trust you, but you don’t want them to think you are out of your depth constantly.”
- Own up to your mistakes
Alistair states, “Authentic leaders should be honest about their own mistakes. If you’ve made a poor decision, put aside your pride and own up to your team, explain your reasons for making the choice, what you’ve learned and how you intend to rectify the situation. We all make mistakes.”
- Show a bit of emotion
Alistair explains, “If you’re having a bad day, say so and say why. It happens to us all at some stage. The key benefit will be that your team members won’t take it personally if they have taken the brunt of your bad mood.”
- Tell it like it is
Alistair says, “I’m transparent, what you see is very much what you get. Good news or bad, it’s delivered ungarnished because everyone in my organisation is smart enough to see the reality anyway, so why embellish it? As a result, my team know what I expect from them, and everyone knows where they stand.”
Alistair goes on to say that he has seen first-hand in his career, how those that are more genuine tend to be more comfortable and as a result, more successful. Being more authentic means that workers feel they can express themselves, sharing their talents and skills.
Alistair concludes by saying, “At the end of the day, we’d all rather deal with people who are real, rather than those who are faking it. And that couldn’t be more true or relevant than in today’s world of work. So, given today’s global climate of distrust, I urge business leaders to understand how valuable it can be for you to simply be yourself in building a trusting and fulfilled workplace.”
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Contact:
Jonathan Beasley
Hays | Senior Communications Executive
T: +44 (0)20 7383 2266
E. [email protected]
About Hays
Hays plc (the "Group") is a leading global professional recruiting group. The Group is the expert at recruiting qualified, professional and skilled people worldwide, being the market leader in the UK and Asia Pacific and one of the market leaders in Continental Europe and Latin America. The Group operates across the private and public sectors, dealing in permanent positions, contract roles and temporary assignments. As at 31 December 2016 the Group employed 9,600 staff operating from 251 offices in 33 countries across 20 specialisms. For the year ended 30 June 2016:
– the Group reported net fees of £810.3 million and operating profit (pre-exceptional items) of £181 million;
– the Group placed around 67,000 candidates into permanent jobs and around 220,000 people into temporary assignments;
– 22% of Group net fees were generated in Asia Pacific, 45% in Continental Europe & RoW (CERoW) and 33% in the United Kingdom & Ireland;
– the temporary placement business represented 58% of net fees and the permanent placement business represented 42% of net fees;
– Hays operates in the following countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Chile, China, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UAE, the UK and the USA