One only has to scan any newscast, magazine or newspaper to find an overwhelming number of stories of failed leadership. Most are stories where a trusted person crossed over the line of ethics or morality leaving behind pain and anger in those who extended to the trust and counted on the leadership. Whether the leader is in the financial world, business, politics or the church, the wake of destruction created by failed leadership is a high price for people to pay.
Trust is arguably the crucial trait of leaders. If people cannot a leaders words or actions, if they dare not invest their time, money or talents at the leaders behest, then leadership is vapid and destructive.
It is curious to me how we desire credible leadership in spite of the perpetuation of leadership failures. People continue to hope that the next person will fulfill their hopes and expectations and not continue their pain. The human dynamic at it's best is one of hope. Upon that the future of humanity is built. It is also upon that the thief, scammer or con counts to build their crime.
We all seek leaders in whom we can successfully invest our trust. As humans, we also know that we have each, at times, disappointed others who have counted on us. From those experiences we know that when trust is broken it is very difficult to restore.
In many cases trust can be restored. What is required is for the person who has violated trust to own responsibility for the violation, ask for forgiveness, and then, (and this is the hardest part) to live responsibly in an obvious pattern of transparent trust for an extended time. Trust is lost in a minute, and may take conscious continuity of behavior for years to be regained.
Because trust is so vital to all relationships, it is worth the effort at restoration.
In peace and transparency,
Larry
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
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