Why does Intentional Leadership matter?

After researching, observing, and leading teams over the past 30 years, one aspect of leadership is often overlooked, which is whether our intention to lead is noticed by our followers and colleagues. They pay attention to whether or not we lead casually or deliberately, with little effort or positive, concerted effort. How they evaluate our motives, including why we lead, influences the extent to which they trust us to lead. Their trust in our leadership affects how much effort they put forth, their level of job satisfaction, and, ultimately, whether or not they remain with our organization.

There are many reasons we might have been put in positions of leadership, but we all have the opportunity to make the most of these roles. Rather than let time and circumstances get the best of us, we should use these opportunities as ways to build trust with others deliberately. We are all responsible for developing trustworthy leadership in our organizations, whether we are the boss, the team leader, or an individual contributor.

In our research, we have found that there are four important ways we can show others that we can be trusted: though our reliability, our openness, our competence, and our caring. Being reliable is dependably following through on our promises and acting in a consistent manner. Being open with others means at a minimum being honest and at its fullest, being completely transparent. Being competent requires expertly delivering results, and caring includes not taking advantage of others and also caring for the welfare of the whole organization. Together, we call these four the ROCC of Trust©. Here are some ways we can intentionally become a trustworthy leader.

Be a leader others can rely on

When we lead intentionally, this includes starting meetings when scheduled, and responding to emails in a timely manner. We are letting others know that we value their time and that they can depend on us to notice their work, appreciate their efforts, and be a leader they can rely on.

When a leader behaves inconsistently through their words or actions, it causes their followers to wonder if they can be trusted in other ways. For instance, if they can’t trust this leader to show up on time or respond to their requests, can they trust them to actually do the work they need them to do?

Be a leader others can learn from

When we lead intentionally, we share information with our team members in ways that help them do their jobs better and will help them learn and grow. By being transparent with our motives and means, our team will be empowered to share information back with us to help the team itself to improve and innovate. 

If we fail to share information by withholding what we know, our team will wonder if we have hidden agendas or are trying to control the narrative or power within the team. This undermines trust and our team will fail to share information with us in the future that might be critical to future success because they will be afraid if it will be used in unexpected ways that hurt rather than help the team.

Be a leader who inspires action

When we lead intentionally, our team can see that we have the requisite experience and skills to excel in our job, and that job includes helping the team be excellent as well, which inspires them to give their jobs their fullest effort. When part of our performance involves enhancing others’ effectiveness, employees are motivated to demonstrate their competence, too. Our responsibility includes encouraging them to ask for additional training to improve their own capabilities for future opportunities.

If we don’t have the ability to lead a team due to our inexperience, our team will discover this quite quickly and trust us less. This doesn’t mean knowing how to do everything, and our humility here will help to rally the troops when you appreciate and rely on the expertise of your colleagues. 

Be a leader who cultivates loyalty

When we lead intentionally, we show others that we care about them, not just in terms of how they contribute to the team, but as a whole person. We encourage them to bring their whole selves to work and acknowledge those times when life comes before work (as it did for many during the worst of the Covid pandemic). When we ask employees about their best boss in our research, more often than not they say that their best boss was the one “who cared.” It was not the smartest, the most energetic, or who had the best pedigree; it was the one who took the time to care for their career and their life as much as they cared about themselves. 

This part of the ROCC of Trust© is the most important in building long-term loyalty and trust because by its very nature, caring is focused on the long-term welfare of others. In contrast, when we think of employees as numbers and not assets, they view their leaders in transactional ways, too. This is when loyalty fades, and quiet quitting begins.

An inexpensive yet powerful way to demonstrate caring with employees is to use the Gallup CliftonStrengths assessment tool to help them discover their top five strengths. Once an employee knows how they can best add value in their work and to the organization, this will lead to greater engagement and willingness to be creative in their work.

Intentional Leadership Takes Effort

To be an intentional leader is to approach each day with goals and objectives that will help you build the trust necessary to become an effective and inspiring leader. The leaders we have worked with and studied for more than 30 years have shown us how to cultivate a culture of trust and loyalty through their intentional words and actions, based on a foundation of empathy, authenticity, humility, and courage.

Written by Dr. Karen Mishra.
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