10 Ways To Build Trust In Your Leadership
Trust is the most significant predictor of individuals’ satisfaction with their organizations—Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner
If you desire to be successful as a church leader, trust is an integral component. Your influence will be determined by the level of trust you can attain, and is foundational to church health. Therefore, trust development should be one of your primary goals. So, how is trust generated? Here are ten sources I have observed over the years.
The 10 C’s of Leadership Trust
Trust is the function of many forces that work in concert. If you or your church are experiencing low trust, or a loss of trust, chances are the root causes can be traced to failures in one or more of these 10 areas.
Cultivation: A congregation gathers confidence in a leader that is intentionally cultivating and growing deeper in their relationship with God, family and others.
Caring: People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. Being impartial and liberal with compassion, grace, consideration, recognition and kindness builds the belief you care for everyone.
Consulting: Listening before speaking, asking opinions, and seeking the input of others inspires trust in your leadership decisions.
Consistency: Your congregation is constantly observing you. Aligning your words and actions and being the same person regardless of circumstances will make you trustworthy in their eyes.
Competency: Demonstrating the ability to make good decisions and produce results is usually the quickest way to build trust. Competence refers to your track record, performance, and ability to keep commitments and accomplish the right things. If you don’t accomplish what you agree to or is expected, it diminishes your credibility.
Capability: Your training, talents, knowledge, attitude, skills, habits, influence and passions inspire confidence. Capability also deals with your capacity to stay relevant by continually growing and developing yourself in ways that advances the church.
Character: Issues of character deal broadly with honesty, integrity, dependability, follow-through, values, and motives. Biblical character failures in church leaders are the most difficult violations of trust to restore.
Communication: Trusted leaders communicate well. They are transparent and open with what they are thinking, don’t withhold critical information, and keep people informed.
Commitment: Trust builds with longevity. People will follow you over the short term because they chose you. They will follow you over the long term because they have learned to trust you.
Calling: A leader who is passionate and faithful to their calling, day in and day out, will enjoy the confidence of the people they serve.
Recognize that developing trust takes time. Restoring broken trust takes even longer. On some level with some people you will be always be developing and restoring trust. Consistently investing in the 10 C’s of Leadership Trust can be powerful tools in both enhancing and restoring trust.
Posted on September 5, 2017
