The Connection Between Trust and Leadership
I was so inspired by what Simon Sinek said about leadership in one of his TED Talks.
He was asking his audience about people who are able to sacrifice for their peer or their team. And it is a wonder. Where do people like that come from?
How are they able to make sacrifices? Are they just adventure junkies or are somehow attracted to sacrifice? Masochists, even?
Not so fast.
This kind of attitude or character may be inherent, but more often than not it is fostered. And a huge, huge part of it is the environment.
In harnessing these kinds of strong positive traits of selflessness and sacrifice, you’ve got to get the environment right. When we do so, every person has the incredible capacity to do these remarkable things.
Simple, ordinary people who have become heroes and even real-life legends that have put their lives at risk to save others; if you ask them why they did what they did, they will all give you the same answer:
Because they would have done it for me.
It’s astounding how they have this deep sense of trust and cooperation. But make no mistake about it — it’s not unheard of. In fact, this kind of symbiotic and harmonious system that breeds these important virtues date back to our ancestors and those who have come before us.
And what this has taught us is that as crucial as so trust and cooperation are, these are things that we cannot teach alone or entirely. We can’t instruct people to trust us.
Trust, like love, is a natural feeling. It cannot be taught. It can only be nurtured, fostered and enhanced by its environment.
Trust is a Historical Necessity
Simon had a very colorful and apt narrative of how trust was a necessary evolutionary trait that the earliest humans had to develop in order to survive.
The Homo Sapien race was in all sorts of danger. It could be something as “basic” as getting attacked and eaten by a saber tooth tiger. Or it could be something as massive as a volcanic eruption or climate change.
Whatever the case may be, these are all working to reduce our lifespan. And because of these, we evolved into social animals that learned how to live and work together. This tribal behavior and having a circle of safety, as Simon points out, was the beginning of having a trusting relationship with other people that naturally bred cooperation.
Imagine if our forefathers and earliest ancestors did not learn to trust each other? If I don’t trust you that means you won’t watch for danger. And that, my friends, is a very, very bad system of survival.
The Need for Trust in the Modern Era
At this day and age, the need for a trusting and cooperative relationship with other people is vital in our survival. Though we may be more “civilized”, the primal need to survive is still prevalent in all of us.
Competition is fierce. Resources are scarce. Therefore, our survival is still threatened, this time not just by external forces but by each other’s need existence or thirst for success.
It could something be as large-scale as the ups and downs of an economy or the stock market’s uncertainty. Or it could be man’s own creation such as new technology which could render someone’s business model obsolete almost overnight. It could even be an industry competitor who’s out to get you and take your market share.
These are all forces that are beyond our control. And there are hundreds of variables that we have to anticipate. The only non-variable factor that we have control or influence over is what’s inside our organization.
Where Leadership Matters
And this, my friends, is where leadership matters. Because it’s the leader that sets the time and tone of when the organization learns, decides and prioritizes to put the well-being, safety, and lives of the people inside the organization first, above and beyond the organization’s own gain.
If the people feel that they are safe and that they belong, remarkable things can happen.
However, if the conditions are wrong or are not set in the way that fosters trust and cooperation, then we’re forced to expend our own time and energy to protect ourselves from each other. What a sorry situation to be in because it inherently weakens the organization.
But when we feel safe inside the organization, the natural tendency of each individual is to positively contribute by combining their talents and strengths for the good of the organization. They shall work tirelessly to face the dangers outside and take hold of the opportunities that come their way.
As Simon said, “We call them leaders because they go first. We call them leaders because they take the risk before anybody else does. We call them leaders because they will choose to sacrifice so that their people may be safe and protected, and so their people may gain.”
When this happens, the natural response is that people are more than ready to sacrifice for us. They will give their all to see that their leader’s vision come to life.
Simple, ordinary people going about their way. But because of what they have done, their great sacrifice, they have become heroes and real-life legends. If you ask them why they did what they did, they will still give you the same answer:
Because they would have done it for me.
