6 Uncommon Ways Leaders Need To Build Employee Trust and Commitment

The UPwards Leader

There have been myriads of articles and posts written about how leaders can best build commitment and a culture of trust among their employees. Many of those methods are proven and well-studied.

But one thing often missed is a need for leaders to drive deeper into themselves and promote a behavioral leadership style that fosters connection, commitment, and engagement.

Below are 6 behavior mindset changes that leaders need to change within themselves before they change the level of trust in their organization.

• Trust Your People First. I had a business owner who was severely challenged with staffing tell me the reason she couldn’t get employees was that she didn’t trust anyone. She was shocked when I told her she was correct and wrong at the same time. Numbers of studies show how employees want trust from their leaders. Placing the trust in your people first will usually work to get them…

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Knowing When The Customer Isn’t Right

The UPwards Leader

“The customer is always right.”

A great premise that isn’t always true.

A great leader should be able to discern this.

A great leader will discern when the customer isn’t right, and when the employee is.

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A young man who worked in retail told me last week how a customer approached him and asked about buying a display item, which was not for sale. But due to store policy, the display item had a price tag on it, although invalid. The customer persisted to tell the employee it was for sale, and after explaining a few different ways, the retail employee asked “How about I get my manager to find out?”

The customer agreed and the young man radioed his manager. When he looked up the customer was gone. He looked around for them, and they were no where to be found.

About 5 minutes later, his manager approached…

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Is Hope A Leadership Trait?

The UPwards Leader

We like to hear of lessons in leadership, and look for relevant examples in all mediums. Whether reading articles, books or watching movies, there is always a leadership tip we can gain, whether from good or bad displays.

An example of this is one of my favorite movies – Apollo 13. One of the reasons I gravitate to that movie is not just the story itself, but Ed Harris’ character in the film.

Harris plays Gene Kranz, the NASA Flight Director in charge of the moon mission that has been derailed by an internal explosion aboard the ship. Some of the lines Kranz says helped calm the anxious flight command crew and give them hope of bringing the astronauts safely home:

“Gentlemen, at this moment, I want you all to forget the flight plan. From this moment on, we are improvising a new mission: How do we get our…

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Leadership Principles From The Bushido Code

The UPwards Leader

The one amazing thing about leadership principles is that they are proven truths throughout time. The application of these principles changes over generations and cultures, but the truths always remain the same.

If you are a student of leadership, you will always find proof that undergirds these principles. This was proven in my kid’s karate class by their dojo’s Sensai.

He wrote a post on their social media page about the Bushido Code and how it applies to the principles he is teaching the kids in the community about being good leaders and citizens. I decided to look it up and was impressed at the leadership truths it showed.

The Bushido Code was a code of conduct and ethics for the Samurai warrior. It laid out those principles that were shown to elicit the highest degree of moral character, respect, and order in society. A Samurai who held to the…

View original post 557 more words

Is Hope A Leadership Trait?

The UPwards Leader

We like to hear of lessons in leadership, and look for relevant examples in all mediums. Whether reading articles, books or watching movies, there is always a leadership tip we can gain, whether from good or bad displays.

An example of this is one of my favorite movies – Apollo 13. One of the reasons I gravitate to that movie is not just the story itself, but Ed Harris’ character in the film.

Harris plays Gene Kranz, the NASA Flight Director in charge of the moon mission that has been derailed by an internal explosion aboard the ship. Some of the lines Kranz says helped calm the anxious flight command crew and give them hope of bringing the astronauts safely home:

“Gentlemen, at this moment, I want you all to forget the flight plan. From this moment on, we are improvising a new mission: How do we get our…

View original post 697 more words

How To Stop The “Urgency” of Instant Communication

The UPwards Leader

A sales person was meeting with a client for two and a half hours. When he had finished his visit and left the account, he noticed that he had 2 voice mails and 4 emails from the same person about an “urgent” matter. It was merely a question of explaining a simple return for product that another customer did not order.

A food and beverage director at a theme park became frustrated with the park administrative offices communications. They would email and expect instant responses, and hold on-the-spot meetings with all the departments when they thought there was a topic to discuss. This leader and his colleagues were many times in the park attending to the needs of the guests.

A department head in Southern California used his old Nextel Connect phone (with the walkie-talkie capabilities) and called a supervisor from the maintenance crew and requested he come and fix…

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Leadership Principles From The Bushido Code

The UPwards Leader

The one amazing thing about leadership principles is that they are proven truths throughout time. The application of these principles changes over generations and cultures, but the truths always remain the same.

If you are a student of leadership, you will always find proof that undergirds these principles. This was proven in my kid’s karate class by their dojo’s Sensai.

He wrote a post on their social media page about the Bushido Code and how it applies to the principles he is teaching the kids in the community about being good leaders and citizens. I decided to look it up and was impressed at the leadership truths it showed.

The Bushido Code was a code of conduct and ethics for the Samurai warrior. It laid out those principles that were shown to elicit the highest degree of moral character, respect, and order in society. A Samurai who held to the…

View original post 557 more words

How A Servant-Leader Mindset Can Give New Leaders Instant Rapport

The UPwards Leader

Gene was a new area manager and part of his new territory was to oversee the team at the largest revenue store in the company.

His first day was to tour each store for a few hours and introduce himself to the management and team members there. The store had great potential but the team was struggling and had new supervisors assigned in the last few weeks.

One of the key supervisors, Sherry, was on duty that day. As they were talking, Sherry who was very skeptical on the new management changes, asked Gene point-blank “So what changes are you going to make?”

Almost without thinking, Gene responded “Not sure, Sherry. What changes would you like to see?”

Instantly, Gene could see Sherry’s defenses drop. Her face became relived and her eyes opened with hope. She immediately and enthusiastically gave him her thoughts. Gene eagerly wrote it all down then…

View original post 511 more words

Leadership Principles From The Bushido Code

The UPwards Leader

The one amazing thing about leadership principles is that they are proven truths throughout time. The application of these principles changes over generations and cultures, but the truths always remain the same.

If you are a student of leadership, you will always find proof that undergirds these principles. This was proven in my kid’s karate class by their dojo’s Sensai.

He wrote a post on their social media page about the Bushido Code and how it applies to the principles he is teaching the kids in the community about being good leaders and citizens. I decided to look it up and was impressed at the leadership truths it showed.

The Bushido Code was a code of conduct and ethics for the Samurai warrior. It laid out those principles that were shown to elicit the highest degree of moral character, respect, and order in society. A Samurai who held to the…

View original post 557 more words

3 Levels of Leadership Self-Awareness

The UPwards Leader

Self-awareness in leadership can be an elusive pursuit.

Great leaders show an awareness of themselves and how it impacts others around them in and outside their organization, whether it is in their industry, the business world at large, or their personal lives.

When it comes to self-awareness, most people would claim you either have it or you don’t. While this is true, those that are self-aware come in varying degrees. Understanding the levels of self-awareness can help leaders know their current state and how they can develop from there.

Having an awareness and desire to improve is always the measure of the best in leadership.

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The 3 levels of Self-Awareness are:

• Aware But Don’t Care. These types of leaders know about their general behavior, but either don;t see or don’t care that their behaviors impact others. They ignore there is anything wrong and don’t admit there is any opportunity…

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