Many organizations possess great potential for creating high levels of organizational performance excellence, but are missing the one key ingredient for excellence – trust among the senior leadership team. This is reflected in the safety, quality, service, and financial performance indicators of the organization. The impact of low levels of trust ripples through the entire organization.
Influential leadership is inextricably linked to the trust intangible. When a disparity or misalignment exists between the convictions and core values organizational leaders profess and the actual behaviour they exhibit, they create confusion and distrust among team members. Consequently, without trust there is no influence, and without influence there is no opportunity to reach peak performance in personal and organizational achievement.
Influential leaders are not just passive recipients of trust; they are also proactive givers of trust. They view trust as a mutual practice: They work hard to earn and keep it, and they expect and demand others to do the same. By displaying trustworthy behaviour every day, influential leaders serve as a model to their people and key stakeholder partners.
For example, influential leaders spend time contemplating the qualities and qualifications of candidates for a senior leadership position. They do not hire quickly to expedite the recruitment and hiring processes, especially when the position has been open for a long time. Their goal is to find the most ideal match for the organization and its culture. Seeking to hire people who believe what the organization believes in core values and purpose, this reflective practice accomplishes two goals: 1) it lessens the risk of hiring a selfish, uncooperative leader who could undermine the collective success of the leadership team, and 2) it sends a message to the entire organization that leadership is serious about building and strengthening trust within the culture.
In the absence of trustworthy influential leadership, people will still perform their tasks and abide by organizational rules. They only do so, however, because they want to keep their jobs, and they perform at the lowest acceptable level possible. Obviously, this response is a narrow perspective that produces superficial results. A collective that is built on trust has a deeper meaning and thus has long lasting power. It energizes, engages and awakens passion and commitment, even in health care, where many workers already suffer from compassion fatigue – the stress, isolation, pain and apathy felt by caregivers in practice create cultures fraught with fatigue, cynicism, and loss of personal worth and value.
Trustworthy behaviour comes from the heart. Influential leaders lead from the heart and are highly practiced with the skill of ‘Positive Presence’ which enables them to be responsive to others’ needs. The skill of Positive Presence forms the emotional awareness necessary for trust.
Catherine is the President and CEO of CORPORATE HARMONY, providing virtual solutions for leadership development and organizational culture change. Her leadership and coaching experience as a Project Manager in an ever-changing, fast moving technological organization with unrelenting demands drove her to the realization that a positive mindset and strength-building behaviors are essential for today’s complex and chaotic organizational systems. CORPORATE HARMONY’s virtual platform of programs, coaching and performance measurement, is an innovative online technology of tested proprietary content. The world-class content of CORPORATE HARMONY’s Positive Presence Program develops the skill of ‘Positive Presence’ and the necessary ‘Positive Presence Behaviour Competencies’ for maintaining a positive and energized mindset and increased performance in today’s complex work environment, and leading to a culture of collaboration and connection. Catherine’s vision for Corporate Harmony is to bring the skill of “Positive Presence” to the corporate world as it becomes more complex, ambiguous and chaotic. Catherine is uniquely positioned to impact organizations’ productivity and long term success, with her powerful vision of eliminating bad stress from every workplace around the globe, bringing purpose into the people equation to promote healthy, productive and meaningful work cultures and turn the tide on the neglect of mental health on a global scale. Catherine is author of the book: “CORPORATE HARMONY – The Performance Link for Today’s Modern Organization” Catherine can be reached at: Catherine.Osborne@corporateharmony.ca or go to ‘contact us’ on our website www.corporateharmony.ca. Catherine is available for consultation, and can be reached by 519-695-3407.