Building Trust & Credibility

In this Quick Take, you will learn why perceived unfairness affects people so deeply, why, when it comes to fairness, little things matter a lot, and four categories of fairness that you, as a manager, must be aware of.

In the early years after he founded Microsoft, Bill Gates had a surprising reply when strangers asked him what he did. He didn’t say, “I’m the CEO of Microsoft” or even “I’m an entrepreneur.” He said, “I’m a programmer.” He was making an important point about leadership – one that can help you become a more effective leader. In this Quick Take you will learn a simple definition of leadership -- and how it ties into credibility, the number one source of credibility for leaders and the key to increasing, and sustaining, your credibility as a leader.

The best managers realize that to be a truly effective leader you need to deploy a variety of management styles depending on who you're dealing with and what you're trying to accomplish. They know that a 'one size fits all' approach to leadership simply doesn't work. In this Quick Take you’ll learn: Why 'one-trick-pony' managers have limited value to the organization, that great managers master a repertoire of six management styles and, how to correctly deploy the right style depending on the situation.

The #1 job of the human brain is to predict what will happen, so that we can be prepared. But managers can unintentionally create a work environment where unpredictability reigns. When that happens, employees feel stressed, anxious and demotivated. In this Quick Take you will learn how the brain creates 'predictive models' that are designed to tell us what’s going to happen, why we feel good when our predictions are right – and bad when they’re wrong and how you can use the principle of predictability to create a more productive and positive work environment for your people.

In this Quick Take, you will learn how a leader’s fear of appearing vulnerable can become “contagious,” resulting in an overly cautious team culture driven by risk-avoidance, the results of a research experiment that shows how acknowledging vulnerability fosters trust on teams, which increases risk-taking, innovation and performance and how to help leaders reframe their attitude toward vulnerability.