The Seven Characteristics of a Trusted Leader

Trust, a vital element in any thriving workplace, is the cornerstone of effective leadership. It empowers leaders to manage and motivate their teams, foster a dynamic of health and flexibility, and encourage safety and innovation. When trust forms the bedrock of organizations and leaders, tasks are accomplished with reduced stress, and employees are emboldened to communicate honestly and take calculated risks.

In the following series of blogs, we will examine the seven characteristics of trusted leaders and how they foster trust in others. Leaders lay the groundwork to build and sustain trust within a workplace. In a high-trust environment, leaders promote flexibility, teamwork, and innovation.

Honesty

Honesty is the baseline for all trust within us and others. Trusted leaders embody transparency and, in doing so, promote it in others. What does it mean to embrace honesty in the workplace? It means having open conversations and sharing information truthfully with your team. People want to know where they are headed and why. If employees are kept in the dark about something, they will typically pick up on the feeling of secrecy, and trust will erode over time. Be clear with others, whether it’s about the direction the team is moving in, providing necessary feedback, or sharing ways employee performance is tracked.

Trusted leaders embrace honesty by honoring confidentiality, aligning their values and actions, being reliable, and taking accountability for their decisions and missteps. When a person asks, can I trust this person, the first evidence they look for is honesty.

Transparency and trust are essential to successful leaders and organizations, yet these values require vulnerability. Giving away trust or deciding who to trust is a powerful decision, and it can be scary. To be vulnerable requires us to lean into uncertainty. Every leader needs to do it, even if it means letting some of their control go. Leaders need people they can depend on, delegate to, and feel confident in.

There are many spaces in the world where it’s not safe for people to be vulnerable or to trust others. Trusted leaders help create organizations where it is safe for people to take their armor off and be vulnerable while feeling secure. Honesty and vulnerability go hand in hand, and they pave the way for trust.

Our next blog will focus on the next characteristic of trusted leaders: social intelligence. In the meantime, take some time to reflect on honesty and vulnerability. Are there ways you or your organization reward or require people to keep their armor on? Are there times when people can open up and let their guard down? In what small ways can you practice honesty and vulnerability in your workplace?