Strong leadership is defined by a variety of traits, but perhaps the most critical quality for a leader’s success is being trusted by the people you manage.

How a leader communicates can go a long way toward building trust—or destroying it. A recent article by business author Gwen Moran on FastCompany.com shares five ways that leaders may be damaging their credibility, on purpose or without realizing it, by how they connect with their teams.

Here’s an overview of what Moran presents as concrete communication methods to build and maintain the trust of your team.

• Set Aside Your Agenda – Building trust is not about advancing your own agenda or downplaying difficult issues at the cost of truth. For example, your team probably has a good idea that there’s downsizing in the future, so tell them what you know and that you’ll share more as you learn more. Then be sure to do it.
• Offer An Authentic Apology – If you’re in the wrong, offer a genuine apology for what you did. “In addition, in corporate context, the apology includes an agreement or a statement about what the organization or the individual is going to do to make sure that it doesn’t happen again or to address the wrong,” says Moran.
• Accept Responsibility With No Finger-Pointing – Moran cites communication coach Kate Bennis who says that “publicly making someone else a scapegoat is just going to make people wonder about how much you can be trusted.”
• Skip The “Non-Denial Denial” – Put more simply, tell the truth from the outset and “try to emphasize the positive or a solution,” says Michael Maslansky, CEO of Maslansky + Partners. “You may say that you’re exploring options and give a concrete timeline when employees can expect more answers.” Being ambiguous or offering half-truths will only come back to bite you (and your credibility) in the long run.
• Answer Questions Directly – Leadership communication expert and author Terry Pearce states that when leaders “ignore context and dismiss their responsibility to be truthful, their credibility is at risk.” How cleverly you can answer a question without really answering it is not a criterion for effective leadership, and it certainly won’t make folks trust you. As an old adage goes, “Say what you mean, mean what you say, but don’t say it mean.”

We at Authentic Leadership International (www.boldermoves.com) are well versed in helping leaders develop these, and many other, effective communication skills that will increase your credibility as a leader.

As a leader, if you manage the high-level issues and honestly share relevant information with your team as needed, they will be confident that you’re looking after their interests and will likely perform better because of it.

Looking for a way to practice expanding your leadership capabilities, such as improving credibility with your team, in small yet bold ways? Sign up here to access my Weekly Bold Move. It’s free and with no strings attached.

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Most of us have been taught to stand firm in our convictions and rigorously defend them when required. Somewhere along the line, this stance became equated with the ability to make good decisions and provide effective leadership.

However, recent studies by Duke University are showing that “my way or the highway” leadership tactics aren’t always the best choice. The ability to be humble, what scientists term intellectual humility, actually helps you to make wiser decisions and to be a valuable, sought-after leader.

Research On Intellectual Humility

The Duke study, run by professor of psychology and neuroscience Mark Leary, defines intellectual humility as “opposite of intellectual arrogance or conceit,” and that “it resembles open-mindedness.” Researchers also found this trait to be non-partisan, showing up in liberals, non-liberals, religious and non-religious subjects

A recent article on Inc.com defines intellectual humility as “the willingness to accept that you might be wrong and to not get defensive when arguments or information that’s unfavorable to your position comes to light.”

ZMEScience.com states that “intellectual humility is the opposite of intellectual arrogance, having a lot in common with open mindedness. Intellectually humble people can also have strong opinions on something, and they don’t necessarily have to be humble in other circumstances. Basically, this trait shows how likely you are to accept that you might be wrong when faced with evidence.”

Embodying healthy humility can have a major positive effect on your personal and business success. Authentic Leadership International (www.boldermoves.com) can help you in this development and that of other traits to enhance your leadership skills and become a sought-after resource in your organization.

Impacts On Decision-Making

Intellectually humble leaders may be better poised to make more effective decisions because they can quickly absorb and accurately evaluate information coming at them without being overly influenced by their own beliefs, says the Duke study.

When presented with facts, study subjects “who displayed intellectual humility also did a better job evaluating the quality of evidence — even in mundane matters,” according to the research. “For instance, when presented with arguments about the benefits of flossing, intellectually humble people correctly distinguished strong, fact-based arguments from weak ones.”

Leadership And Intellectual Humility

Inc.com states that while intellectual humility might sound brand new, it’s been studied by business leaders for many years, including people like Stanford business school professor Bob Sutton.

Back in 2006, Sutton wrote that humility is a must for sound leadership. As a leader, it’s important “to not be too attached to what you believe because, otherwise, it undermines your ability to ‘see’ and ‘hear’ evidence that clashes with your opinions,” he stated.

Duke’s professor Leary concurs, stating, “If you’re sitting around a table at a meeting and the boss is very low in intellectual humility, he or she isn’t going to listen to other people’s suggestions. Yet we know that good leadership requires broadness of perspective and taking as many perspectives into account as possible.”

Intellectual humility allows leaders to listen to their teams and make the decisions that ensure wide-ranging success for everyone involved—and those are the leaders that will continue to thrive in today’s constantly shifting business arena.

Looking for a way to practice humility by accepting a gentle growth challenge every week? Sign up here to access my Weekly Bold Move. Best of all, it’s completely free and with no strings attached.

Women continue to make strides in the workplace around equitable pay and leadership positions compared to their male counterparts, but there is still a long way to go.

According to the Washington Post, “The number of female CEOs of America’s most influential companies is stuck at 5 percent, as it was the year before. While women make up 45 percent of the labor force of the S&P 500, few are climbing to the very top.”

One factor that can keep women out of key upper management roles is the lack of an effective leadership style, and women face many difficulties in learning how to be an effective manager.

Female Leadership Challenges

There are certain female stereotypes that interfere with women learning to be good leaders and which present difficulties that their male counterparts will never experience. A recent Wall Street Journal piece describes it very well.

“Leadership experts say women must navigate a ‘double-bind:’ If they assert themselves forcefully, people may perceive them as not acting feminine enough, triggering a backlash. But if they act in a stereotypically feminine way, they aren’t seen as strong leaders.”

Additionally, says WSJ, the lack of women in leadership roles means a lack of role models for young women to emulate in developing a uniquely female leadership style. “Women can watch male leaders too, of course, but men can’t illustrate how to navigate female stereotypes.”

Steps To Move Forward

Here are some ways that female managers at any level can develop and strengthen their leadership abilities.

• Seek Out A Female Role Model – As stated above, this may be easier said than done. If there’s isn’t a competent female manager in your company, look to the outside. You might find someone in a professional or community group. Authentic Leadership International (boldermoves.com) can help you make these connections and offer continuing advice on leadership development.
• Find A Female Mentor – As stated above, you may need to go outside your company to find this. The site Business Dictionary advises, “Observe your mentor’s behavior closely, especially how she reacts in stressful or difficult situations. It is important to develop your own leadership style, but utilizing what you learn from a successful manager to mold your own behavior can be a good starting point.”
• Get Yourself Noticed – Women need to take charge of their office image, states WSJ. “They shouldn’t be content simply that their name is on an important report. Instead, they should actively engage colleagues and superiors, and talk frequently about their ideas and research.”
• Develop Your Skills – According to Business Directory, “As you become known for the quality of your work and for your achievements, your team and peers will start accepting you as a strong leader.”

As you grow and develop your leadership skills, remember to be patient with yourself and with those around you. You’re not only moving yourself forward; you’re also advancing the truth that women can be effective leaders in any organization and any business arena.

Looking for a fresh dose of motivation to inspire and challenge you every week? Sign up here to access my Weekly Bold Move. Best of all, it’s completely free and with no strings attached.

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The Oxford English Dictionary defines resilience as “the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties.”

Nowhere is this ability more needed than in our current work culture which, thanks to technology, surrounds us 24/7 with the pressure to get things done. “Currently, a quarter of all employees view their jobs as the number one stressor in their lives, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,” states a recent Harvard Business Review article titled “5 Ways to Boost Your Resilience at Work.”

The good news, says HBR, is that we actually can learn how to be more resilient in all aspects of our lives. “More than five decades of research point to the fact that resilience is built by attitudes, behaviors and social supports that can be adopted and cultivated by anyone.” And this is supported by neuroscience as well as behavioral and organizational research.

How Employees Can Build Workplace Resilience

Some effective tips offered by the HBR article include:

• Practice Mindfulness – Learn how to practice this stress-relieving skill of handling just the present moment rather than the entire day. “Social psychologists Laura Kiken and Natalie Shook, for example, have found that mindfulness predicts judgment accuracy and insight-related problem solving, and cognitive neuroscientists Peter Malinowski and Adam Moore found that mindfulness enhances cognitive flexibility.”

There are many, many techniques for reaching mindfulness. Taking slow, deep breaths is key here. Please stay tuned or refer to many of my past articles for more ideas.

• Compartmentalize To Help Brain Function – Breaking data into chunks handled one at a time helps us more easily process the myriads of information coming at us each day. “Create dedicated times in the day to do specific work-related activities and not others…much the way you might create a dedicated time for physical exercise in the course of your day.”

When it is time to finish up that last-minute presentation, turn off your phone and emails and focus in on that one thing. Then, when it is time to connect with your loved one, step away from the computer. It’s about honing in on that one essential activity for that particular moment.

• Be Good To Yourself – This involves:
  • Taking regular breaks to totally detach from the work process “for even a few minutes to reset energy and attention.” It can preserve energy and prevent burnout in the long run. Deep breaths, a yoga class, massage or a walk along the block are some ways to detach and let our bodies and minds find solace.
  • Building compassion for yourself and others. “According to research cited by the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley, compassion increases positive emotions, creates positive work relationships, and increases cooperation and collaboration,” states HBR.

Each time you may find yourself getting irritated with yourself or others, be open to shifting to a more compassionate view of yourself or the other person. We all really are, after all, doing the best we can with the “tools” we have on hand at that particular moment. Expanding our emotional and spiritual “tool box” is one way to shift toward greater compassion.

What Employers Can Do

The Reward & Employee Benefits Association (REBA) website provides effective ways for employers to help their employees build resilience in their workplace, and two are particularly worth noting.

• Offer Mindfulness And Resilience Training – Studies prove that resilience is a skill that can be learned, so these programs teach employees “to feel empowered, confident, proactive and decisive. It teaches them not to view difficulties as paralyzing events, but rather as challenges.” Mindfulness training will “improve their awareness of the present moment, rather than being consumed by unhelpful, stress-inducing, thought processes.” We at Authentic Leadership International can offer many ideas here.
• Create A Supportive Culture – REBA cites research “demonstrating that a supportive workplace environment in which employees feel empowered can help enhance employees’ stress-management capabilities.”

Providing employees with the option of a safe space for “putting it all out there” that coaching provides is one important way companies can show their employees that they care.

Employees and employers need to begin collaborating on ways to build resilience to work stress. In the end, this will make both the company and those who work for it more productive, creative and fulfilled – leading to stronger bottom-line results.

Looking for a fresh dose of motivation to inspire and challenge you every week? Sign up here to access my Weekly Bold Move. Best of all, it’s completely free and with no strings attached.

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When you think about it, there’s sort of a catch 22 in running a successful business: you need employees to take care of customers and you need customers to generate the revenue to hire and retain employees.

Customers have generally come first in this on-going loop, but there’s growing evidence that focusing on your employees over your customers can actually generate much bigger gains for your business in the long run.

Why You Should Be Employee-Focused

The site CultureUniversity.com recently posted an article titled, “Focus on Employees and Their Happiness, and Customer Success Will Follow,” which presents very sound reasons for focusing on employee satisfaction.

Author Nic Marks states that a “lack of attention on employees almost certainly undermines the business goal of creating happy customer experiences; because how can employees be expected to care about customers’ experience when they don’t feel the business cares about theirs?”

“Ignore the employees’ experience,” says Marks, “and you will undermine the customers’ experience.”

If putting employees before customers feels a bit counter-intuitive to you, you’re not alone. Yet research is consistently proving the effectiveness of this strategy.

“It’s well known that employees’ attitudes toward the organization have a significant effect on how they approach their jobs and how they treat customers,” according to the MIT Sloan Management Review site. “But recent research also suggests that high levels of employee engagement are associated with higher rates of profitability growth.”

Marks sums it up this way: “By focusing on employee experience, forward thinking companies can start to reap a huge happiness dividend that will benefit not only the employees and customers but also the business itself as it becomes more profitable.”

How To Begin Making The Shift

There are any number of options to create an employee-focused culture in an organization.

In Pat Lynch, Ph.D.’s article published on the BusinessPerformance.com website, “Ten Ways to Create an Employee-Centered Workplace,” he stresses that making this change must be a deliberate choice on the part of business managers:

“Unfortunately, this scenario does not occur naturally. Rather, management must make a conscious decision to create an environment in which everyone and everything is aligned with employees’ success.”

Lynch also reminds readers that these are not “one-time fixes” but are truly a new way of consistently interacting with employees now and in the future. “Short-term ‘solutions’ for long-term issues are seldom effective, and workers can tell the difference.”

As the MIT Sloan Management site puts it, “Companies with great cultures are rewarded with loyal enthusiastic employees who are more productive, more creative and will help you in your talent attraction. It doesn’t take a genius to work out that happy, engaged employees will naturally create great interactions with customers.”

It’s those great interactions that bring old customers back again and again and pull new customers toward a place that offers a great buying experience.

If your company is struggling with profitability and building a satisfied customer base, I challenge you to begin building an employee-focused culture and see what happens. And if your company is doing well, I offer the same challenge to see how much more success you can create by focusing first on the happiness and success of your employees.

Looking for a fresh dose of motivation to inspire and challenge you every week? Sign up here to access my Weekly Bold Move. Best of all, it’s completely free and with no strings attached.