Honesty

Integrity is a recurring theme

When I sit down to write one of these posts, I usually pick the day’s topic from the things I am actively teaching, coaching, or writing.

Part of this is efficiency—a “two birds, one stone” thing. But often I have a specific insight during that bigger project that works well as a daily leadership tip.

Integrity is a recurring theme of my posts, of course. And one prime benefit of choosing to make high-integrity choices is the peace-of-mind it gives the people around the honest person, especially the honest leader.

People sleep better at night knowing that their leader isn’t trying to trick or manipulate them, isn’t going to flake on them and not do what they said they would, isn’t going to blame them for something that is not their fault, isn’t going to use them to further a selfish personal agenda, etc.

Help your people to have that trust in you—by being trustworthy.

Help them keep moving forward with high productivity because they know you have their back, so they don’t have to waste time on CYA activities.

We all have to navigate a world of people who lie, cheat, and steal. We have to navigate a world in which misinformation is weaponized to make people fear and hate one another. But as leaders, we can create an environment in which our people don’t need to have their guard up, in which they don’t need to be anxious or suspicious or cynical. They can focus any mistrust or skepticism outward (because there are bad actors in the world, of course), rather than within the team.

Work to build an environment in which your team can trust you, and one in which they can trust one another. It improves morale and retention. It improves team-building and effective collaboration. And your people will be able to sleep better at night.

(Photo by Brett Jordan: https://unsplash.com/photos/Pd3ml1YR)