The most important ingredient for a high performing team is trust. It is at the centre of everything. Without it, there is no psychological safety, collaboration is at subsistence levels and people are rarely enjoying their work. Leaders who aren’t trusted are probably managing through fear and are never going to be fully effective. With it, teams challenge each other, they work towards common goals, and they are more likely to have great ideas. A great way to think about this subjective concept is using the four slightly more objective variables of Charles H Green’s Trust Equation. The Case StudyWhilst what is happening in the UK sucks at every level, it does provide a great illustration of this equation. Let’s consider the last 45 days of UK political turmoil.
Credibility. On a scale of 1 – 10, how would you rate Liz Truss as leaders of the Conservative party and the government? Markets crashed, mortgages went up and the Conservative party imploded. It's tough to go too high. Reliability. Perhaps this one is a little higher as there was a determination to deliver on her leadership campaign promises, no matter what the evidence was that the course of action was totally hat-stand. Intimacy. Is there any evidence that colleagues, outside her faction, felt close to the leader? Will the people who now have higher mortgages feel that their situation was understood? At the very least, her team man-handling Conservative MPs to get them to vote with the government doesn’t suggest a 10 out of 10, does it? Self-orientation. Was throwing a chancellor under a bus and arguably waiting to be pushed rather than jumping showing that she put the parties or nations interests before all else? By your calculations, how does she do? The good news in a political party is when a leader gets it so wrong, the party can act quickly to remove a leader. This is not the same in businesses and organisations. A leader who performs poorly against this criterion can limp along for years, driving the team to achieve just enough without ever letting them reach their potential or feel fulfilled. Everyday is about survival. The really great news is that once aware of them we can all take practical action to improve any of the criteria. The use of an analytical tool and some focused coaching can deliver significant results. Have you been in a team that lacks this ingredient? How did it feel? Have you had a leader that would score badly? How do you score? Need help? As a side note, the past few months has also been a great, condensed study of populism. One Conservative Party leader candidate talked about hard decisions and measured approaches. He was dull too. The other said exactly what those voting wanted to hear, no matter how ill-judged. She won, and the rest is history…….. already. Except if you have a mortgage.
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