INsight/ Trust or Power

Photo by Sharon McCutcheon on Unsplash.

Manila, 5 May 2021 — Trust or power, which comes first?

Story

It happened in 2021. Last week I had a chance to work with sustainability leaders on three continents. And I felt inspired because they were all looking for new ways to influence positive changes in the workplace.

The need for trust was a recurring theme in each of the discussions. Trust in teams, trust in organizations, and trust in the supply chains for key economic sectors. Trust to embrace change, trust to invest in change, and trust to create tipping points for change.

Power was another keyword that came up frequently. Power to influence others. Power to start change, to accelerate change, and to scale change. Two important themes: trust and power. So which of these two comes first for leaders?

Challenge

Reflecting on the discussions, I realized that there were at least three things that the leaders in these discussions agreed on. First, that leadership can be learned. Essential leadership skills can be developed. This applies especially to the communication skills to influence and build relationships and collaboration. Other skills are important too, including how to set yourself up with good planning and organization.

Second, they all saw leadership skills as a necessity to deal with the sustainability challenges we face today. Moreover, people needed to develop their leadership regardless of whether they held a position of power. Being in a position of power, they argued, didn’t necessarily turn someone into a leader.

Third, the leaders found that building personal power, in various forms, was a requirement for building trust and collaboration among colleagues and among project clients and stakeholders. While position power was no guarantee for leadership, developing your personal power with more leadership skills would certainly help you to influence better.

Question

Taking this reflection forward, the question for this week is simply this: What are you doing to develop your personal power as a leader?

As always, I work on this question too, and in Grow3Leaders our theme this month is how leaders invest in building trust with people. Taking a close look at your reservoir of personal power will help you answer the question, as will checking out the Three Trust Barriers.

If you are passionate about learning to influence positive change in sustainability work and you want to build up your personal power with a coach, start with an assessment of where you are at and where you want to go. Book a Free Strategy Session now.