The Trustworthy Leader Becoming One and Inspiring Others

Amy Lyman

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Overview

• Who is the Trustworthy Leader

• Developmental process – steady (learning by doing) and opportunistic (taking chances)

• Putting it into practice for yourself – to do your work as a leader

• Teaching others – role model by your presence (being known), role model by your actions (what you do and how you teach)

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Trustworthy Leaders are…

• Normal people with exceptional care and concern for others

• Smart, talented men and women found in all industries, organizations, groups all around the world

• People who come from a variety of experiences and backgrounds

• Characterized by an openness to new ideas and ways of doing things

www.trustworthyleader.org

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What happened to you?

• Early lessons from family, peers, work, community – awareness of differences

• Strong values experiences in terms of how to treat people

• Inspired by visionary teachers and practice – inner focus

• Grounded in own experiences moving forward – other focus

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What Guides a Trustworthy Leader?

www.trustworthyleader.org

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Becoming a Trustworthy Leader

Inner focus – Move through your Virtuous Circle

• develop your own rhythm

– Learn by doing and recalibrating

• What will be different next time

– Examine your comfort with others

• What do you need to learn about them

– Do you want to be a leader?

• Why would someone follow you?

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What happened to you?

• If you enjoy doing this type of work with people, you already have an intuitive sense that people make a difference.

• I worked my way through the ranks. I come from a very humble beginning. My first job was as a secretary (security guard, cashier, orderly, stocker…)

• I lived in an airplane, traveled the world, worked with people from all over. In that environment there’s only one way to do it - you include everybody, you have to. Of 70 people in the office, we had 23 different nationalities.

• To be successful you have to have followers. I had 26 years of experience when I arrived here and learned fast that this is how leadership works here. If you’re in a leadership position and don’t have followership, you won’t be successful.

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Becoming a Trustworthy Leader

Other focus: – Be aware of and acknowledge learning points

• let people know that you see their growth

– Use your own sayings to teach others

• “importance is fine, impatience isn’t”

– Practice what you preach

• if you want to be respected find ways to respect others

– Ask others if leadership is for you

• great followers help make great leaders

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What happened to you?

• To create trust, you have to be visible. If you’re invisible, that undermines trust. Show up and help (REI – Sally Jewel)

• You have your name and your word. If people can’t trust you and what you do, it harms you and your effectiveness. I learned that really early on. (Shirley Weis – Mayo Clinic)

• Eileen and I spoke about the collective rather than hierarchy. That’s unique - believing in the collaborative process at the leadership level and learning as we go. (Susan Schor – EILEEN FISHER)

• Our leaders are so communicative. They make sure we understand what is expected of us, the firm’s mission and how we hold ourselves accountable as employees and human beings. Words matter, especially in times of great uncertainty. (Employee - Robert W. Baird)

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Yes, this works…

Trustworthy leaders create great workplaces in which: – financial success is more likely

– cooperation and commitment among employees is high

– more people are involved in the life of the organization

– wealth, rewards and recognition are shared broadly

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Why does this work?

• We are social animals – we want to cooperate and succeed by sharing knowledge and learning from each other

• Our brains change as we learn, increasing and strengthening the connection between knowledge and action – we commit patterns to memory

• A trustworthy leader builds on the power of cooperation and the commitment that is developed from positive experiences that happen again and again

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• requires your own commitment to lead with honor and inclusion,

• the development of a set of a perspective and skills that enable you to bring people with you,

• so that all can go forward together as you lead the way through uncertainty to the opportunities available

Trustworthy Leadership

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The Virtuous Circle of the Trustworthy Leader?

www.trustworthyleader.org