Trustworthy Leadership

Having the TRUSTWORTHY LEADERSHIP motive means you are most confident and driven when the leaders in your workplace or whom you work with are competent, care about their employees, and are worthy of your belief in them. It is demotivating for you if your leaders or others (whether they actually supervise or direct you, or are merely influential peers or partners) prove unreliable, incapable, neglectful, and untrustworthy. Lack of TRUSTWORTHY LEADERSHIP will affect your attitude at work, and your ability and desire to remain productive and engaged. You are inspired to follow and learn from people who possess qualities you associate with strong leadership. These qualities may include transparency, vulnerability, passion, or other aspects of integrity that speak to your values. This motive may even be important to you because you strive to be a trusted leader with these qualities yourself. Leaders support this motive when they can be authentic, and when they treat employees with respect as fellow human beings. You are happiest and most productive when you’re able to admire the leaders in your work life. You do best working at a company where leadership has a good reputation, and lives up to it. You thrive when you can trust these people, and when they have proven that they care for your wellbeing and the wellbeing of your peers.

 You feel this motive being met when…

+ You feel confident and motivated when you think about the leaders and influencers you work with.

+ You feel familiar with your organization’s leadership, and you trust their decisions.

+ Leadership cares about employees as people, and they prioritize employee wellbeing.

+ Those above you are competent, respectful, and worthy of trust.

 This motive is at risk when…

– You have a negative experience or perception of your supervisors or leaders you work with.

– You question the honesty or reliability of those in authority at your company.

– You worry that your leadership’s behavior or decisions impact your company and/or the people who work there in a negative way.

– Your organization’s leaders (or management team) only appear to care about numbers, the bottom line, and getting work done at whatever human cost.

A Work Wellness Check-In for TRUSTWORTHY LEADERSHIP

1.  Am I familiar with the leadership at my company? Do I understand their vision for the company? Their values? Who they are as people? Can I ask questions if I would like more information?
2. On a scale of 1-10, how much do I trust the leaders, or leader I interact the most with, in my company? (1 = I don’t trust them at all, 10 = I trust them completely, even on a personal level) How do I feel about my answer?
3. What five words would I use to describe my leaders or management? How do I feel when I look at that list?
4. How often do I worry about the decisions leaders and supervisors make? If I’m concerned, who concerns me? Is it my manager, the CEO, or someone at a level in between?

5. What do I admire most about leadership at my company or the leader(s) I interact with?
6. Do I trust some members of management more than others? Can I work more closely with those individuals, and thereby support my motive?
7. Do those in authority care about my wellbeing? About the wellbeing of others who work here, or who work with us?  Can I trust that they will act with our best interest in mind?
8. Does my company and management discuss wellness and mental health? If so, do our leaders follow through with practical solutions, or do they talk a good game without playing it? 
9. If I have concerns about aspects of this motive, have I shared these concerns with anyone? Do I feel safe to? Are there ways I can influence?

10. If I am a leader, do I feel I am trustworthy and living up to the qualities I admire in a leader?
11. If I don’t work in a leadership/team setting, do I make the effort to interact and learn from  other leaders I admire? Would that strengthen this motive?
12. Is TRUSTWORTHY LEADERSHIP something that is valued at my company? Is it focused on, emphasized and rewarded? Is this something I could influence?
13. To what degree do management and/or leaders in my company show vulnerability? Do they demonstrate honesty and their own authentic humanity in their interactions with us? Do they share thoughts and emotions in a healthy way? How much do these things matter to me?
14. Are leaders in my work situation fairly transparent and accessible? Am I satisfied with their level of transparency and accessibility? Do they communicate to help me, and do their modes of communication make sense to me?
15. Given you can be a leader even if you don’t have a technical leadership role, how do you feel about your level of trustworthiness and your ability to be the type of leader you admire? Trust is a two-way street, have I shown I am trustworthy?
16. Do the leaders at my company take responsibility for their mistakes? Do members of management ever ask for honest feedback? If so, do they act on it?
17. Do I feel those in leadership lead with employee motives in mind? Do they seem to care that our motives are met at work (whether they use this language or not)? Is this something I can show appreciation for if this is a strength?
18. Where do I have most confidence in management or the leaders at my company? Where do they inspire the least trust and confidence? (e.g. I like and respect this leader, but am not confident in their big picture decisions; I think this management team values our mission, but they don’t live their values, etc.) 
19. How would I describe my relationship with authority figures at work? Would I be more motivated if this relationship were different? What steps are necessary if I want to create a better dynamic?