This week’s blog is all about trust. Read along to see how Optus employees reacted to Part 3.
TAKEAWAYS
The main takeaway in Part 3 is trust. Trust is an integral part of open communication between leaders and those that are lead. Trust across an organization is imperative for success. Trust goes beyond rules. Leaders must trust that their employees will break the rules when it’s for the betterment of the group.
FAVORITE QUOTES
- “The responsibility of leaders is to teach their people the rules, train them to gain competency and build their confidence. At that point, leadership must step back and trust their people know what they are doing and will do what needs to be done.”
- “We don’t just trust people to obey the rules, we also trust that they know when to break them.”
- “Trust is like lubrication. It creates conditions much more conducive to performance.”
- “It’s not how smart the people in the organization are; it’s how well they work together that is the true indicator of future success or the ability to manage through struggle.”
DAY-TO-DAY
Our employees had a lot of great ideas for how they could implement ideas from Part 3 into their day-to-day lives.
- If I am a good leader (whether professionally or personally), the people who report (team members or children) to me should feel as if they have courage to do the right thing, no matter if it breaks the rules or not.
- Understand that trust is earned, not given. It’s also easily lost.
- Trust is a big factor of success. You can have a team of highly skilled individuals, but without trust they won’t have the freedom or drive to do what is best for everyone– whether it be the organization, my family, my friends, etc. I can’t help customers by myself. When it comes to doing my day to day job and interacting with other departments, I can alter the way I interact with them to create an environment of trust- to show I value what they do and have confidence they will do it well. Trust doesn’t just come, but I can learn to build it. Hopefully if I extend my trust their way, they will do the same for me.
- Don’t be a snowmobile in the desert.
- Our ability to corporate is what actually helps us get things done.
LEAD THE WAY
Being a leader means more than being in a management position. Leadership can take many forms, whether at work or at home. Some great ideas for how to improve your leadership skills from Part 3 include:
- Lead by example that in certain circumstances, in my case when it comes to branding, breaking the rules is the right answer.
- It’s important to understand that when referencing conditions, the goal is not to make things as simple and friendly as possible. I see this as being aware of the employees’ environment as not to put them in a situation where performance cannot be optimal. As leaders, we have to ensure that our employees have the tools, processes, and skills to make the right decisions throughout the day.
- Everything you do can either earn or tear down trust. To be a better leader, I can take a step back before I send an email; make a call, etc. to see how my actions or words will impact the trust between me and the recipient.
- As much as we like to think that it is our smarts that get us ahead, it is not everything. Our intelligence gives us ideas and instructions. But it is our ability to cooperate that actually helps us get those things done. Nothing of real value on this earth was built by one person without the help of others.
- Hire good people and get out of their way. Don’t try to fit them into a scenario, build the scenario around them.
SUM IT UP
- Break the rules
- Trust each other
- Trust is vital
- Trust is paramount
- Trust reduces friction
- Cooperation leads success
We hope you join us next week for Part 4: How We Got Here.