Trust is a function of transparency over time.
You can’t be super vulnerable and transparent one time and have them trust you, and you can’t only be a little transparent over a long time.
There have to be multiple occurrences of being transparent and open with your team.
Here’s an example of how not to do it:
A manufacturing company with multiple sites made a decision at the executive level: They’re going to shut down a site. But they don’t tell the people at the site until the very last minute.
Now, when it happens and the axe falls, everyone else, at all the rest of the sites, are continuously wondering: “Might the axe fall on us? We know that we can’t trust them and it could fall at the very last minute.”
So, here’s my nudge to you:
See if you can be more transparent, more repeatedly, with your team and you’ll see the mutual trust grow.
I’m David Marquet and that’s your Leadership Nudge.
