Build trust: Essential first steps

- I worked with a leader named Daniel from a big investment bank who decided to start his own firm. He wanted more transparency for clients and a stronger team culture for his group. First, he had to surrender all his clients to the bank and start from zero to try to regain those clients, plus others for his new firm. Immediately after giving notice on a Friday afternoon, he invited 16 of his bank colleagues to a 4:30 PM meeting and shared his vision with them. He invited them to join him at his new firm, but for legal and ethical reasons, they had to sign their offer letters before 5:00 PM that same day. He asked 16 talented accomplished professionals on 30-minutes notice to leave their stable, very well-compensated positions in a world-famous investment bank to join a fledgling venture with exactly zero clients and zero income. All 16 said yes. They dropped everything to follow Daniel. Why? Because they trusted him. Because he earned their trust before he even considered starting his firm. They knew beyond question he cared about them and he would come through for them, because he had done it for so long already. He earned the trust of his clients too. In the old firm, he managed several billion dollars for clients. Starting over from zero, after just one round of calls to those same clients, he regained the initial amount plus 50% more. Those sophisticated, highly-intelligent investors trusted him even more without the backing, reputation, and resources of a world-famous bank. The employees voted for Daniel with their feet and their futures. The clients voted with hard-earned money. Both were right. Daniel's firm grew spectacularly, and he racked up awards in his industry year-after-year. Earning trust every day is the foundation of executive leadership. A question on everyone's mind about leaders is, "Why should we follow you?" The best answer is because we trust you. We trust you to support our best interests, to help us succeed, empower us to reach our goals, encourage our development, and help us do meaningful work we can be proud of. But there's only one way to gain it and keep it, and that's to earn it. Whether people trust us is 100% up to them based on the impact of our actions on them. When you build trust, possibilities multiply. But when you lose it, things fall apart. That's why Daniel's lesson applies to executive leaders in all industries and organizations. Take action every day to increase the three key factors that build trust. First, reliability. Be someone who can be counted on utterly. Make commitments, keep them, over-deliver. If you fall short, do whatever it takes to make it right. Credibility. Develop knowledge and skills to excel in your role, and show you're capable of more. Know all about your business and industry, and step up for opportunities to contribute beyond your role. Connection. Be a positive presence. Build rapport and relationship. Don't gossip. Say good things about people to others. Learn something from or about people with every touchpoint. Find out what matters to them, and help them get it. Listen and give. Do this every day. You'll build strong trust. And like Daniel, when the moment comes when you really need people to be there for you, you'll find that all along, they already have been.