As a leader, do you insist on loyalty or cultivate trust in your organization? A common mistake many leaders make is expecting loyalty without creating a level of trust first. Here at the Academy, they encourage and trust us to be creative, to be innovative and to bring our true talents to work each and every day. They inspire us to work in our strongest abilities whenever possible. The level of confidence they have in their employees creates loyalty as a result, not the other way around. As leaders, they recognize that by putting full trust in us it benefits our organization as a whole. Their faith in us increases our:

• Self-motivation

• Productivity

• Personal commitment

I ran across an article in Psychology Today that discussed the decline of trust in one another. The article stated that according to Gallup, trust in the media fell from 76% in 1976 to 32% in 2016. That is astronomical! The level of trust has dropped more than 50% in the last 4 decades! These levels have also dropped across the board in organizations for employees at all levels.

What could have caused this sinking ship of trust? Well for starters, we now live in a world ruled by internet and social media. A frenzy that is completely entwined with fake profiles, fake news and scams of Nigerian Princes who want to transfer millions of dollars to you. Many of us have become skeptics and are constantly on edge of being scammed, so it isn’t a surprise that only 19% of millennials believe “most people can be trusted”. It is a necessity now to be able to weed through information to see if it is good (opportunity, credible, real, etc) or bad (scam, not credible, not real, etc).

The combination of a generation that doesn’t trust many people, mixed with leaders who don’t trust their employees and employees who don’t trust their leaders, is a recipe for disaster. That being said, with a few small changes relief is on the way!

This starts with you! By putting genuine trust in your employees, you will be able to see a transformation in your business and your team! Here are some ways you can create or grow genuine trust in your organization:

• Give trust first – Show confidence in the abilities of your employees, enroll them in your company’s vision, allow them the freedom to be creative and opportunity to learn from their own failures.

• Effectively communicate – Listen without judgement and be fully present in the conversation to create an open environment.

• Practice integrity – Keep your word and on time. If you can’t then alert those who will be affected as soon as you know you cannot keep your word.

• Show up authentically as often as possible – Practice what you preach. Take complete ownership for everything that happens in your business (both the good and the bad).

• Genuinely care about your employees – Say thank you when it is deserved, acknowledge their efforts and contributions. Help them develop their strengths and reach their goals.

• Manage direction and work, not people – Mentor your employees, don’t be a dictator. Give them the learning opportunities and tools necessary to make it easier to get their work done.

This mindset change costs you nothing, but has the opportunity to make you richer than ever. Not rich in the sense of wealth, although increased productivity could cause that, but an increased quality of life for you and your team that cannot be measured with money alone.

Kimberlee Kenyon
Member Services Coordinator
American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc.
9444 Balboa Avenue, Suite 300
San Diego, California 92123
Phone: (800) 846-1555
www.aaepa.com