A leader’s high degree of credibility is the sum of both behavioural and technical skills, and this credibility is what sustains trust. Trust, in turn, leads followers to support the concept of collaboration at first and then, ultimately, to fully participate in or pursue collaborations. In the absence of credible leaders, 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 collaboration 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 the most complex organizations, such as the healthcare industry where many workers suffer from compassion fatigue – the stress, isolation, pain and apathy felt by caregivers, or the high tech industry where workers commonly suffer from stress-induced illnesses caused by burnout.
Today’s leaders cannot be just passive recipients of trust; they must also be proactive givers of trust. Today’s leaders must 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, they serve as a model to their followers and other partners.
More to point, today’s executive leadership team must possess this one key ingredient for excellence – trust. If trust is not reflected by the behaviours and action of top leadership, the negative impact of this deficiency will inevitably ripple throughout the organization and performance will suffer at all levels. When a disparity or misalignment exists between the conviction and values organizational leadership profess and the actual behaviour they exhibit, they create confusion and distrust among team members. Without trust there is no influence, and without influence there is no opportunity to reach superior performance. Trust can only exist in a positive and energized union of human energy and behaviour. Making the connection between human behaviour and human energy lies in the skill of Positive Presence.
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.