EARN IT or EXPECT IT

Leadership takes forms that seem small & large. Projects, teams, budgets, goals and measured impact, they can be small or large. No matter. There is one dynamic for the leader. TRUST.

Trust is the life blood of any team, any project or leadership assignment. Trust is absolutely required with no possible replacement.

The difference between leaders who win with a team & those who don't is often the fact that one leader will EARN trust, while another will EXPECT trust.

The leader who EARNS IT knows they need to and knows how to and most importantly knows when he/she has it. Earning Trust is the secret sauce of a leader.

The leader who EXPECTS IT has a very special problem that will come back to haunt him/her, sooner or later. Leading will seem more difficult and more discouraging. Leading will require pushing & driving with a relentless energy. This will create predictable failure.

Practice what we Preach: As I approach this week, I will do my best to discern my approach to leading my team, my peers and my leaders. I hope to be the kind of guy who makes intentional efforts every day to EARN trust and to reinforce it with trust worthy communication, collaboration, coordination and deliverable competence.