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For any first-level leader — whether you’re leading an entry-level, customer-facing team or a team of tenured and experienced associates — the most significant challenge you will face is not with the people that report to you. Your most significant challenge you will face is with yourself. Specifically, your challenge is with your mindset and […]

These 13 Behaviours are common to high-trust leaders and people throughout the world. As you work on behaving in ways that build trust, one helpful way to visualise and quantify your efforts is by thinking in terms of “Trust Accounts.” Remember, just like relationships, each trust account is unique; all deposits and withdrawals are not […]

The 4 Cores of Credibility Trust is a function of two things: character and competence. Character includes your integrity, your motive, your intent with people. Competence includes your capabilities, your skills, your results, and your track record. The good news is that we can increase our credibility, and we can increase it fast, particularly if […]

The First Wave: Self Trust The first wave, Self Trust, deals with the confidence we have in ourselves, in our ability to set goals, to keep commitments, to walk our talk, and also with our ability to inspire trust in others. The whole idea is to become, both to ourselves and to others, a person […]

Imagine never having to wonder where things stand with a direct report’s project and never feeling caught off guard by a status question from your boss. These 4 tips can help make that a reality. Why do it? Imagine never having to wonder where things stand with a direct report’s project, never feeling caught off […]

Seek first to understand, then to be understood. Seeking to be understood is the second half of effective communication. Once we are confident others feel understood, we can share our own point of view with respect and clarity. The early Greeks had a magnificent philosophy which is embodied in three sequentially arranged words: ethos, pathos, […]

Do you recognise the good work that your team is doing? Reinforcing feedback can influence behaviour change within the people around you. A good place to start with reinforcing good behaviour is by sharing the impact of the behaviour. For example, instead of saying you liked a report, you could say, “The summary really helped […]

When you delegate, do projects come back different from what you expected? Don’t burn out trying to fix things after the fact. Instead, do what you can and then ask a team member to take over. When you pass the torch, be sure to clearly define the project in terms of its purpose, expected outcomes, […]

A common challenge for leaders is to get their teams to take ownership for the goals they have set. Increase ownership by regularly sharing with your team why their work matters and how it influences the organisation for good. We have found that team members feel a greater responsibility towards each other than they do […]

Whether it’s your friends or your coworkers, don’t let favoritism come into play. It can make everyone else feel unappreciated and unimportant. You don’t have to treat everyone exactly the same—in fact, we recommend not doing that—but be aware of who is getting more praise, more hours, more professional development, and who is getting the […]