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Every leader has a unique way of carrying out his/her duties. Leaders depend on the cooperation of those they lead for them to be successful. The most important question is; how can a leader be assured of a subordinate's cooperation? A leader should be influential, charismatic and persuasive to be able to motivate a group of people towards achieving a common goal. However, these characteristics do not carry much weight if the leader fails to gain people's trust. It is clear that trust is an important element of leadership. Trust can explain why people follow the visions of leaders’ sometimes even to risky ends. Importance of Trust Often individuals need assurance that in difficult times, a leader will be able to make the right decisions. When a leader has the trust of those he is leading, he/she is assured of their cooperation. Each challenge can be viewed as a performance where each person has a role. Team play is ensured when all the individual units work together trusting in others. If one unit distrusts the other, then dysfunction arises. When a leader builds trust among subordinates, work requires less effort and becomes far more productive. It is important to note in these changing times, power does not ensure people's cooperation. Vertical based power leadership is irrelevant. Success in today’s world depends on the ability to persuade people to adopt a unified position in solving a common problem. Consider Albert Einstein's saying that force does not ensure peace and trust; what does is mutual understanding. In leadership theory, trust is linked to positive job attitudes among employees. In addition, building trust enables a leader to manage conflicts since the people are confident that the leader will make the right judgments without favoring one party. How to win the trust of others Building trust is a process that takes time. The first step towards winning the trust of others is to improve your communication skills. Communicating in the right manner is essential in maintaining people's belief in your ability to lead. Improving your communication skills enables you to involve others in decisions that directly affect them. In addition, it enables you to communicate to people as capable adults indicating that you trust them to make good decisions on their own. In return, people trust in you to guide them. Leadership training courses emphasize the transparency and consistency in a leader's actions. This calls for shifting focus from outcomes to the process of decision-making. If people know how a decision was derived, they are more likely to support it. The objective of transparency is to reveal your motives so that they will have confidence in you. This course contains modules like leadership skills training and communication skills training programs. Another way of winning people over is to build working relationships with them. Connection with employees makes them feel engaged and involved. When employees feel that you understand things that are important to them, they will trust you to make decisions on their behalf. As a leader, one should note that trust is not a singular thing. Trust involves building a relationship between the leader and team members. To improve your ability to connect with your team members consider taking an effective leadership training course which should incorporate lessons on how to trust and be trusted by your teams.
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