How are you preparing to be a better leader in 2021?
Employees look to their managers and business leaders to help them make sense of complexities within their own organization, as well as the external world. They seek reassurance that their own experiences and perspective is accurate, and that there exists an adequate framework to create and maintain stability and move forward.
I’ve been thinking about this as events and news unfold this week. More than ever before, employees need to be able to trust their leaders.
According to a recent article published by Harvard Business Review, trust is comprised of four components:
- Competence: the ability to get the job done
- Motives: our reasons (or reasoning)
- Fair means: consistency in applying the same rules to offer rewards or assign punishments
- Impact: the consequences of all actions
In a chaotic world, business leaders cultivate trust and help their employees when they clarify their values, develop their communication abilities, and connect in meaningful ways.
Clarify Your Values
Your values are the underlying foundation in how you make decisions and take action (or non-action.) They are at the core of your motives, how you prioritize, and the sacrifices you make to reach your goals. Your values have a great impact in how you reconcile conflict.
Consider your attitude in relation to other people. What are your obligations to your family, friends, and community? What will you leave as a legacy to the next generation? As a mentor, what values or core beliefs would you want to pass on?
Below is a sample of values. If you were to rank each from 1 – 10 (with one being the most important to you), what would be your top five? What might you add to the list?
Now, consider these important questions:
- What percentage of your focus (your time and energy) is actually spent on these values?
- Is there congruency between your words and actions?
- Would your family, friends, and employees agree?
When there’s a question of right vs. wrong or between degrees of right vs. right, clearly defined values will help you make wise decisions and build trust.
Your next step is to clearly communicate your values. I’ll dive in to that in my next post.
In the meantime, what do you think? How are you preparing to be a better leader right now? I’d love to hear from you. You can reach me here, on LinkedIn, or give me a call: 561-582-6060.
