Orrin, Another wonderful article from that Wisdom Vault of yours! Trust is the foundation of leadership plain and simple. Why? That's because leadership functions on the basis of trust; it is the foundation upon which every relationship at work, at home, in the community or anywhere else is built. Trust is never something that is automatic; It must be earned. You can't demand it from others; you receive it. How you receive trust with others is completely up to you. It is not earned in one day. Nothing worthwhile ever is earned in a day, but it is earned daily. In my mind trust with people is earned when you mesh 5 very important trust qualities together over a long period of time. The 5 qualities are: 1. Character 2. Competence 3. Chemistry 4. Consistency 5. Choices When you deposit these 5 trust qualities into your relationships with the people you are leading over time, then one day you will receive and earn their trust. However once you earn someone's trust you have to maintain it. There is an old saying that is so true about trust; "trust is the hardest thing to earn, but the easiest to lose." If you slack off and start thinking only of yourself, you'll betray that trust and your ability to lead will be severely compromised. Once you earn someones trust your specific intent should be to keep modeling those 5 qualities. That is what genuinely trustworthy people do. I heard John Maxwell give a talk one time about trust and he was discussing certain steps you can take to keep from losing trust once you have earned it with others. The following 6 steps are from that talk: 1. Focus on shared goals more than personal agendas. - Never forget the fact that you are leading your company, office, team or department for the benefit of the people. When it comes to trust, it's not all about you. 2. Stay away from politics. - Let it be known that you can't be bought. Don't even think about going down that road. 3. Do the right thing regardless of personal risk. - If doing what's right causes you to get hurt, then grit your teeth and take the pain. That's what it means to be a leader. 4. Be accountable to others. - Don't rely solely on your own judgment to keep you on track. Ask a few trusted colleagues or mentors to keep tabs on how you're doing in all these areas. 5. Follow the Golden Rule. - Treat people the way you want to be treated. It's that simple. 6. Make sure what you say matches what you do. - This is, by far, the best way to earn and maintain the trust of the people you're leading. On the flip side, the quickest way to betray their trust is to say one thing and do another. If you want a concrete example of this, I have one word for you: Enron. (Source: John Maxwell) I wanted to share those 6 points with all of the readers because trust is the foundation of leadership. Once you earn someone's trust you need to know how not to violate that gift! Those 6 points have been so powerful for me in my leadership journey. Warren Bennis said "Without [trust], the leader cannot function." In closing I came across this wonderful story about trust. I am sure some of you may have heard about it before, but it is definately worth repeating to drive home how to earn trust. We are all very well aware of many corporate scandles that have occured over the past few years. Whether it was Enron, TYCO, Adelphia, Worldcomm, or other scandles; a lack of character and trust is at the center of those storms. However, it seems no one remembers this wonderful story about character and trust from the Johnson & Johnson company. THE TYLENOL STORY: "In the fall of 1982, seven people in Chicago's West Side died after taking Extra-Strength Tylenol capsules that had been laced with cyanide. When the deaths were linked to Tylenol, executives at Johnson & Johnson were faced with a monumental choice: shirk responsibility and assert that the tampering had occurred after the product had reached store shelves, or hold themselves accountable for the entire disaster and take drastic steps to restore trust in their brand and their company. They chose the latter. They immediately told customers across the country not to consume any Tylenol products until they could determine the extent of the tampering. They halted all advertising and production of the brand. And they recalled all Tylenol capsules from the market-- about 31 million bottles with a retail value of more than $100 million. These actions, along with other steps Johnson & Johnson took when it reintroduced Tylenol later, helped restore the public's faith in the company. The fact that corporate leaders valued character more than their own success is a key reason why Johnson & Johnson was able to emerge from this crisis with its good reputation—and its most profitable brand--still intact. You may not be guiding a large corporation through a national public relations nightmare, but maintaining the trust of the people you lead is as important to you as restoring the trust of the American public was to Johnson & Johnson in the early '80s." Thanks for the great post Orrin! Best, Matt