Building a Foundation of Trust

 

(Payette N.F. Fire & Aviation, L-280, 2013)

Trust (Leading in the Wildland Fire Service, p. 53)

Leaders start by building a foundation of trust in teams. Trust is the underpinning of all cohesive teams; without it, teams are merely collections of individuals hat can never hope to achieve synergy.

Recognizing that communication is the key to building trust, we communicate openly with teams and make sure we convey the essence of our values, mission, and vision. In doing so, we also communicate information about ourselves because our teams must, first and foremost, trust us.

Digging a Little Deeper

In "Trust is a Mighty Big Word," Steve Keating contends:

Trust - or lack of it - matters and it matters in everything we do and say.

When a leader does what they say they will, credibility follows. When credibility is present, integrity can grow. When integrity grows, trust flourishes.

We encourage you to read "Trust is a Mighty Big Word" in its entirety and answer Steve's parting question: "What have you done in the past 30 days to earn the trust of those you would lead?"