Creating trust is this simple, "Do what you say you are going to do." If you cannot deliver on a piece of work or meet a deadline, let the recipient know why. Call it out early and clearly, and work to deliver the next best outcome. When you build a reputation as someone who does what they say they will do, you will earn the trust and respect of those around you. If you are authentic, this will translate into transparency, open communication, and in turn, engagement with colleagues. One of my favourite Dad stories, he reflects from when he was 19, recently arrived in Brisbane from country Victoria, and was playing football at the local Australian Rules Football Club. He learnt that one of his mates had got himself into a spot of bother and was being held at the Surfers Paradise watch house and needed to be bailed out. My dad did not have any money (and neither did any of his friends) so he summoned the courage to ask one of the patrons of the club for a loan (I believe it was the equivalent of a week’s wages at the time). He gave Dad the money (good on him), he bailed out his mate, and a month or so later, he went back to the patron when he was celebrating a win at the bar and returned the loan. The patron was in shock, laughed, and said he never expected to see that money again and bought him a beer. Anyone who knows my Dad knows that there was never any doubt he was going to give the money back, only a matter of when he could get the funds together. He got the money without any contribution from the felon mate. It was his responsibility. He said to the patron that he would give it back and he delivered. In that instance, he over-delivered to the expectation that the patron had of him, and you can bet my Dad had his trust for life. Where there is trust, there is a reduction of micromanagement and motivation to exceed the expectations. Teams work together to help each other to achieve an outcome, if you are confident that your team mate will deliver, you don’t waste energy wondering where they are up to in the process and can focus on delivering your own work. Creating a culture of trust is an important aspect of leadership and is priceless to engagement and productivity. Do what you say you are going to do, if you are unsure you can influence a change for your team, err on the side of caution, don’t promise, then watch the joy in their faces when they are delighted by the over delivery.
A key to over delivering is not promising too much to begin with. Be realistic in what you can deliver bearing in mind that things generally take longer than we expect and considering the other priorities we have to meet in parallel. Managing your energy , time and delivery are all required concurrently to exceed expectations in the work environment. If you feel like you are often falling short in delivering to your own expectations you may benefit from my mindfulness based stress coaching. Click the link below to learn more.
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