Employees experience their leader every day. They hear what she says. They see what she does. If these don’t align, employees typically notice it quickly. Some leaders feel they must always be highly professional, never fail or make mistakes, and even admit them. But in fact, the opposite is true. Trust is also built by admitting failure or mistakes, by being authentic. So, I encourage you to embrace more honesty in your leadership style and have three concrete tips for you:
#1 Say only things that are true
As a leader, you don’t say everything you think and know. Never. It’s important to learn not to talk about everything with your employees or express all thoughts. But what you say should be true. This also means that you only praise employees if you really mean it. Don’t praise just because you think it’s due. Then it’s better to leave it. And it’s also important: express criticism—but not everything you think, but purposefully and clearly. What do you want to achieve with your employees? They should know that you give them feedback that is well-founded.
#2 Admit that you don’t pass on all information
As a leader, you can’t always pass on all the information you have. If someone asks you for information that you’re not allowed to pass on, then answer that you don’t want to comment on that. It would be dishonest to claim that you have no information. It’s better: “I’ll inform you when I have the okay.” — provided you really intend to do so.
#3 Keep promises and commitments
It starts with you being supposed to make a decision or take action within a certain time frame, and you do so, and goes on to bigger promises. Be cautious with promises, because employees remember them. If you promise a salary increase but cannot decide on it, it negatively affects trust in you, even if the HR department is “responsible” because they didn’t approve it. Better say: “If you take on the task, I’ll advocate for a salary increase with the HR manager.” It’s important that your employees know: If the boss promises something, he keeps it.
Author:
Debora Karsch, CEO and Master Trainer at persolog GmbH
