Welcome to the world of leading others…an adventure that will test your resilience, stretch your know-how, and teach you about people in ways you never imagined!
As a new leader, gaining credibility with your team is essential to foster trust, collaboration, and achieve collective goals.
How do you do that? By mastering the four “Essential C’s” of Leadership Credibility: Confidence, Connection, Clarity, and Courage.
In Part1 I wrote about Confidence, which is about believing in yourself and “facing” it until you make it.
Here are some strategies to develop the second “Essential C:” Connection.
Connection is about building relationships with your team members that earns their respect, enrollment, and enthusiasm to perform well.
The goal here is to optimize your relationship intelligence: your ability to recognize, understand, and manage your own thoughts, feelings and wants, attune to the thoughts, feelings and wants of others, and respond in compassionate, productive ways.
A key skill in relationship intelligence is communication, and the following five tips will put you on a solid path to success:
Listen Actively: Stop, take a breath, focus on the speaker, and give them space to express their thoughts.
Ask clarifying questions if needed, and paraphrase what you heard to ensure you are understanding them.
Note that active listening is not only hearing the words being said, but also paying attention to non-verbal cues, including the speaker’s body language and tone of voice.
Empathize: This can be challenging, especially if the person you are with or the conversation you are having is triggering in some way.
But this is the fertile ground to test and grow your skill.
The more you can acknowledge the feelings and perspectives of others and connect with their experiences with sincere compassion, the more you will foster trust and strengthen your relationship.
You may not agree with their point of view, but your willingness to consider it will help you gain a better partner in the work that needs to be done.
Communicate Clearly: The bottom line here is: Say what you mean and mean what you say!
The trick is knowing how to say what you mean in a way that is appropriate, maintains psychological safety, and still gets the message across!
Often saying less can be more effective. And check to make sure your message was accurately received.
Be Transparent:. One of the biggest building blocks of credibility is transparency, to the extent that it is prudent for you to share.
Honest communication about the opportunities and challenges facing your organization and/or your business unit helps your team feel included, informed, and valued.
Remember what it was like when you were a direct report and wanted to know what was going on!
And remember this…
Choose Kindness First! Assume you don’t know the full story behind how someone might be showing up that day. Withhold your judgment, give the person the benefit of the doubt, and if the moment feels right, be curious and inquire. They may, or may not, feel able or willing to tell you, but your consideration will go a long way!
In these times of rapid change and uncertainty, strong connections are more important than ever! Your ability to stay self aware and connect in a sincere and constructive way will earn you major credibility points.
If you want expert help to grow your credibility fast, message me! Let’s explore how I can partner with you to ensure your success!