Trust is crucial to leadership

How does each child you lead answer the following three common questions of you?

• Do I trust you?
• Are you committed? (Do you give the time?)
• Do you care about me?

Trust is earned through integrity and competence.

Integrity

• Strive for personal integrity in every endeavor, regardless of how mundane or inconsequential it may seem
• Because small matters accumulate to shape our lives and character
• Be a person of strong, honorable character. The rewards are immeasurable.
• Inner peace and serenity from knowing you are doing right
• Absence of guilt and anxiety that accompany lesser choices
• Exercise principled judgment
• Be direct and truthful, without hedging
• Present the unvarnished truth in an appropriate and helpful manner
• Keep confidences
• Admits mistakes
• Do not misrepresent yourself for personal gain

Competence

• Build and maintain competence (knowledge, judgment, skill)
• Demonstrate competence, candor, commitment, & courage (physical & moral)
• Be credible and inspire confidence with peers and those you lead (i.e. deliver on promises)
• Follow through on all promises and commitments.
• Put yourself in their shoes and anticipate concerns and expectations. When they see that you have thought about it like they do, it helps to relieve tension
• Delegation shows trust and allows others to grow in their experiences
• Conduct one-on-one meetings with each of your followers regularly (e.g. monthly)
• Be tolerant of disagreement when encouraging input
• Communicate clear expectations and standards and let them know where they stand
• Demonstrate mature, responsible behavior that inspires trust and earns respect
• The trust threshold - the follower demonstrates the desired performance, that they can
  consistently reach the identified performance standard. Before trust is reached,
  more frequent checks are necessary. After trust reached, less frequent checks
  are needed. 

Fairness to followers

• Treat followers equitably
• Act fairly
• Have candid discussions
• Do not have hidden agendas - they can see it
• Do not give preferential treatment
• Don't scapegoat your employees. Take responsibility visibly for the decisions you make and the outcomes that follow. The blame game corrodes your credibility faster than any other act.