March 2025
Trust — The Glue that binds an organization together and sets a course for success
By Sean Haley
Academy Leadership has always avowed that there are three distinct "pillars" for effective and lasting leadership — Know Yourself, Know Your People, and Know Your Stuff. The foundation of those pillars is a system of agreed upon values that all members of the organization are familiar with and that leaders are expected to embody each and every day. The glue, however, that "cements" those leadership pillars to the foundation is trust. Just like any building, when the cement is weak the pillars will crumble, and the foundation will inevitability crack. But how do you establish and maintain trust?
First and foremost, leaders must understand that trust is a form of currency that must be earned each and every day. Every action a leader takes either increases or decreases their "trust" account. Tell people to be on time for a meeting and show up late yourself, regardless of the reason, and you will debit the account. Actively listen to your team and take action to improve conditions or results, and the account will increase. Successful leaders realize that trust must be reinforced every single day. When it's achieved and reinforced, the potential success of an organization is nearly unlimited.
To establish trust, a leader must be credible and "walk the talk" each and every day. Successful leaders know that their actions are often times more important than their words. Leaders that set "alternative" standards for themselves are doomed to deplete their trust account in very short order. In Naval Aviation, Squadron Commanding Officers must maintain their respective flight qualifications just like any other aviator in the unit. Despite busy schedules and competing priorities, they must successfully complete annual standardization flights, instrument check flights, and a multitude of other advanced tactical requirements. Many of these officers have been operating in their respective platforms for more than fifteen years by the time they reach command. Why would they need to add to an already busy and challenging schedule? There certainly is a safety aspect to this policy, but the primary driver is trust. The unit must believe that this core value of "airmanship" is endorsed by their commander. But strictly adhering to the same standards he or she sets for junior pilots, the commanding officer reinforces the unit's values and reinforces his or her own credibility. Junior officers shortly learn to believe in their commanding officers and not just respect them due to their position.
To reinforce trust, a leader must connect with his team each and every day. Actively listen to your team and understand what is going on in their professional and personal lives. Empathy builds trust and team cohesion. Many leaders view empathy as a sign of weakness, but it most certainly is not. Empathy does not mean altering course any time a team member is struggling. It does involve, however, listening to your team on a regular basis and understanding how they think and process information. Just being heard significantly builds trust in an organization. In fact, the global professional services firm, AoN, recently found that 83% of employees are not heard "fairly or equally" in the workplace, and 60% believe their opinions and concerns are largely ignored at work. This is a troubling trend and it is incumbent upon leaders to listen to their team members, connect with them, understand them, and ultimately coach them. Academy Leadership has many tools for aspiring leaders to use to facilitate team connection, and the Energize2Lead™ Profile (E2L) is a great first step to enhance better cohesion within your team.
The final aspect of trust is reliable consistent action. Successful leaders say what they do and do what they say. According to Jeff Lasselle in his article "The Power of Consistency in Leadership", "The consistency of our behavior, attitude, priorities, and communication will be noticed and will give others license to behave the same way." More succinctly, everything a leader does establishes a model for acceptable behavior and communication. Teams don't desire or value leaders that modify decisions based on how their teams "feel" about certain issues. When actions are consistent with values and expectations, they are understood and respected, regardless of emotions. When leaders work with Academy Leadership and invest in developing their own personal leadership philosophy, they quickly learn the art of consistency and how their actions must align with their beliefs to ensure long-lasting success.
To be a successful leader, you must Know Yourself, Know Your People, and Know Your Stuff. Establishing trust through credible, consistent, and reliable action serves to cement those critical pillars to a foundation. As that cement sets and cures, the organization starts to truly believe in those values and takes action to further reinforce a foundation of success.
CAPT Sean Haley, USN (Ret.) is a 1992 graduate of the US Naval Academy and a 2003 graduate of the US Air Force Air Command and Staff College. An accomplished Naval Aviator with nearly 30 years of distinguished military service, Sean had the privilege of commanding the Swamp Foxes of Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 74 and Naval Air Station Jacksonville, the third largest U.S. Naval Installation in the world. Sean is passionate about leadership and professional development and currently serves as Academy Leadership's Director of Leadership Programs and Franchise Development.
