Competence and Character – A Leader’s Trust Foundation

When determining how to improve the level of trust your people have in you, you need to look no farther than a mirror! Two of the building blocks of trust include your character as a person and your competence as a leader. These two essential components are necessary to build a trusting relationship.  Your purpose as a leader is to be an inspired influencer who provides direction and motivation to those with whom you work to accomplish goals and bring the mission of the organization to life. Let’s look at how to raise the bar on the trust between you and your people with these two important characteristics.

Competence: To demonstrate competence, you must be able to execute certain skills required in your position. Leadership competencies are a combination of various traits deemed essential by the organization. To be seen as competent, a leader must exhibit these traits on a regular basis. This should not be confused with perfectionism because as a human being you may make a mistake and probably will. The key is how you handle the situation, you should offer transparency, communicate honestly, and let people know what you are doing so it does not occur in the future. You cannot, however, expect to be seen as competent if you continue to make the same mistake over and over. Your competence is a combination of how you lead, develop your people and your achievements.

Character: Brilliant leaders are very self-aware and never take their self-awareness for granted. Honesty is key and people must be able to trust that you will do what you say you will do. A leader must have a high level of emotional intelligence which means they are able to maintain their calm when faced with challenges and choose to think before they speak. You must create an environment in which people feel safe to communicate openly and honestly and your people must know you care about them and show empathy. Great leaders treat their people fairly and know they do not have all the answers. They listen intently to understand rather than to espouse their intellect.

These foundational attributes are important in helping a person to excel as a leader. Through their integrity they teach others that they can be trusted. Employees prefer to work with leaders whom they trust and who communicate honestly. When these characteristics are exhibited everything runs smoother and work is accomplished easier.