Trust is a value that occurs in ourselves, our teams, and our organizations. Creating and maintaining that trust is paramount for leaders. Unfortunately, many leaders do not see the need for paying attention to it. Leaders can make the mistake of assuming that rank and the ability to say, “because I said so” binds people to their decision. But, the reality is that trying to lead with authority absent trust isn’t leadership—it’s toxic. So, what does trust look like in your organization and how is it defined?
Trust is having confidence in one’s self.
As a leader do you create training opportunities for others to gain confidence in their skill set? Do you help motivate people to train when no one feels like it (even you!)? Do you work to close the gap of what they think they know with the reality of what they actually know? Leadership has a responsibility to help people find their strengths and weaknesses. Individuals who do not know their jobs and lack confidence will act hesitantly, offer excuses, and seek the lowest acceptable level of performance permissible. These people are more rampant in our organizations then we would like to admit. They often oppose leadership, undermine efforts, challenge buy-in to our mission, and place their interests before others. Leaders must have the courage to persistently pursue rooting out complacency in our organizations.
Complacency stands in the way of knowing your job, yourself, & what you are capable of. Complacency is an enemy of trust.
Trust is the ability to rely on others.
Individuality thrives in our society. Entitlement and bad attitudes can manifest at any time in our organizations, regardless of tenure. Lone wolf thinking not anchored to our mission or values can produce disastrous results, especially when good advice from teammates goes unheeded. Our mission is built upon the construct of the fire service company—we before I. The company affords us the collective brain trust in which any problem can quickly, efficiently, and correctly be addressed while working towards a solution. So, if leaders never create training situations which require the synergy and problem solving of teamwork then how do individuals ever learn the value of it? If we don't create opportunities for teamwork do we inadvertently condone a culture where the perception of self becomes more valuable than the group? But this must start with leaders who are willing to admit they don’t know it all. Healthy teams have leaders who consistently demonstrate ownership in their mistakes and humility in their knowledge. Toxic leaders refuse to hold themselves accountable and suppress the ideas of their teams because their insecurities won’t allow for others to receive credit.
Thinking of self-first promotes a deterioration of our company’s strength and ability to perform our mission. Selfish thinking and a lack of humility are enemies of trust.
Trust is acting as good stewards of the public’s support of our mission:
When fire or EMS are dispatched to a call we often arrive to find the front door left open waiting for us. Family members usher us into their homes to treat their loved ones without even as much as asking our names, let alone if we are qualified. The public trust is the strongest leverage tool we posses to accomplish tasks others see as impossible. And yet this formidable tool is also incredibly fragile and susceptible to damage—often at our own doing. Perhaps it is a social media post in which someone declares publicly the perceived shortcomings of their department influencing the public’s perception of our ability to do our job. Maybe it’s the illegal activity or the headline grabbing antics of cheating, lying, or stealing that puts us in the spotlight? Is it also when first responders allow our narrative to turn from training for risk mitigation to promoting risk aversion?
Do firefighters, EMTs, officers and paramedics betray our mission when we allow “good enough” to take root in our organizations, instead of striving for excellence? It’s important to remember that every day you continue to earn the public’s trust.) The folks who preceded us with their good work, hearts of service, and many sacrifices afford us the opportunity to continue to be good stewards of the public’s trust. We will all have moments in which we choose the harder right over the easier wrong. In this moment, we will continue to maintain this trust. We should not be surprised that risk exists in our profession, and we cannot tolerate a risk-adverse fire service to replace the one born of selfless service.
Train to mitigate risk, and plan to operate where it exists. Treat risk with respect and regard, but do not abandon your duty to preserve the public trust each and every day based on this simple and single construct: THEM before us.
Any action to the contrary is an enemy of trust.
Call to action:
There is no secret ingredient to creating trust. People both feel and lose trust in others for different reasons, even if they exist within the same group. For this reason, self-awareness and empathy are two powerful tools in a leader’s arsenal. Too often leaders become complacent and expect that regardless of our performance or attitude trust will continue to exist. Check in with your team often, and look for areas that might be generating hard feelings. Don’t let your group flash over before you realize there is a problem.
It is time to take back leadership from those who merely seek title and start existing again for our people—not ourselves. Trust demands that leadership provide support, training, and courage to our people in the face of adversity and naysayers.