Comments on: Leadership and Broken Trust

By: Mike Myatt

Mike Myatt — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 17:40:00 +0000

In reply to Gayle.

Hi Gayle:

I obviously don’t know the details of the situation you described and in principle agree with your sentiments. That said I offer the following food for thought…

Some people believe there is never a good reason for a leader to break his/her word. This premise assumes the leader is perfect, and of course we all know there is no perfect leader. When a leader commits to a mistake, the right thing to do is not to continue the mistake, but to immediately walk it back. We’ve all found ourselves in this position, and we’ve all born the price of being refined between the hammer and the anvil.

The issue isn’t one of compromise – good leaders will compromise positions, opinions, philosophies, etc., but won’t compromise their values. If a leader fails to keep a positional commitment due to conflict of principle, then while the leader obviously made a bad call going in, they were principled enough to correct the mistake along the way – it is what it is. Reasonable people know the difference between a necessary adjustment and not being willing to do the right thing.

Savvy leaders take their commitments seriously and don’t enter into them lightly. At the end of the day, the scorecard will show how well we’ve done as leaders in keeping our commitments by the people who choose to continue to be led by us.

By: Mike Myatt

Mike Myatt — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 17:06:00 +0000

Agreed. It’s just not that hard to keep your commitments, but if you can’t, you’d be far better off not making them at all.

By: Mike Myatt

Mike Myatt — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 17:06:00 +0000

Thanks Kyle.

By: Mike Myatt

Mike Myatt — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 17:03:00 +0000

In reply to Oarabile. Agreed - where trust is absent you'll find leadership to be missing as well. Thanks Oarabile.

By: Mike Myatt

Mike Myatt — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 17:02:00 +0000

In reply to Anonymous. I'm glad you found this helpful.

By: Mike Myatt

Mike Myatt — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 16:58:00 +0000

In reply to Scott. The true test of a leader is not how he/she deals with things when they're correct, but how they handle things after realizing they were wrong. Thanks Scott.

By: Mike Myatt

Mike Myatt — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 16:54:00 +0000

In reply to Joe Lalonde. Hi Joe: If their spouse or friends can't trust them, neither can you. If someone will cheat on their spouse, they'll cheat on you. If someone will throw their friends under the bus, they won't hesitate to push you off the curb either. If someone will gossip to you, they will definitely gossip about you. These are tough lessons which many people regrettably learn the hard way. Kudos to you for being discerning. Thanks again for stopping by Joe.

By: Gayle

Gayle — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 21:05:00 +0000

Hi Mike,
I enjoy the very human perspective of leadership you provide in your articles. Thanks. I just left an organization that is going through a large transformation. The CEO knew the transformation would mean heart-wrenching change for many. He chose to use “trust” as his flag as he leads the organization through difficult days. Because he’s had to back-peddle on his word (for good reason or not), the trust is being eroded. He’s a good leader for many reasons, but I wish he would have garnered support from within with another flag. It just reminds me that you don’t elicit trust just because you say you value it; you must act as one worthy of it.

By: Oarabile

Oarabile — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 10:54:00 +0000

Hey Mike
Nice post i would say trust is the back bone of leadership and without it its impossible to lead effectively and to harmonize the followers.

By: Joe Lalonde

Joe Lalonde — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 13:51:00 +0000

Great post Mike! I’ve always wondered the same thing. Whether it be in an employee, governmental position, or elsewhere. If their spouse or friends can’t trust them, how can I trust them?