Trust is like a mirror. Once it’s cracked, no matter how much you try to fix it, the reflection is never quite the same.
Honesty has a difficult standing in some leadership circles. People believe they can’t trust their team or customers with the truth. Or that they’d need to protect their team from it. And so, they avoid it.
And I get it. It’s tempting to promise the moon in the moment to give a little extra motivational boost. Or to beautify the situation to give some false assurances.
But that’s like tapping a hammer against that mirror. Each small crack harms the surface. Until at some point it eventually shatters.
The strongest teams I’ve worked with, had a very different approach.
People can handle uncertainty far better than they can handle broken promises. Honesty, even when it’s uncomfortable, keeps the mirror intact.
If you’re unsure, say so. If the road ahead is unclear, admit it.
Every time your team sees that your words and actions are perfectly aligned – even in difficult times – they trust you a little more. And that means that trust is intact when it matters.
Keep lighting the path!
