You can’t have trust without dependability
A client canceled a meeting today with me today. You are no doubt thinking, "So what? Happens all the time."
It happens all the time with some people. A few people never cancel. Everyone is busy.
I started to work with this client because he wanted help with his team. He felt that his team wasn't as cohesive as it could be. We started our work by talking to all the team members. It seems that there were trust issues with the team but that most of the trust issues were centered around the leader. Could these trust issues be related to this client's dependability (or lack of it)? Seems obvious doesn't it? If it is so obvious, why is meeting cancellation such an epidemic?
Let's examine dependability for a minute. Dependability is about keeping your commitments and doing what you say you are going to do. Or did I just describe trust? The point is the two concepts are so tightly linked, they can't easily be separated.
Think about the message you send when you cancel a meeting, neglect to return a phone call or are late on a commitment.
Let me make the message clear to you. You are telling the person that you are interacting with that they are less important than whatever else you are doing. You are telling them that your needs take precedence over theirs. You are eroding trust.
Here's my challenge: turn your mind to your upcoming week. How often will you cancel meetings? How often will you be running late? How often will you take more than a day to return a call?
If the answers to all of these questions is never, congratulations. You are building trust. If the answer is sometimes or often or "I have a really busy week.". You need to rethink your priorities. There is no shortcut to trust. Everyone is busy.
Sandra Oliver - July 21, 2008
Filed under:
peer or team coaching,
leadership,
teams,
workplace,
new leaders
Sandra Oliver
Sandra Oliver Sandra Oliver is a leadership coach and consultant with more than 17 years experience in Corporate HR leadership roles. Her expertise includes change management and succession planning. Sandra is the founder of IMPACT Consulting Inc.
