May 2010
Published by Geoff Kelly, Kelly Strategic Influence
Wisdom to lead minds:
"Samson killed a thousand men with the jaw bone of an ass. That many sales are killed every day with the same weapon"
Anonymous
Four ways leaders bust trust in the age of the sceptic
We build trust consistently over time. But even good leaders can blow it
with one stupid act or one poorly framed sentence.
It is lunacy to ignore this equation. Yet lunacy prevails in so many corners
of business and Government.
The following common and innocent looking approaches will blow your
trust quicker than thought. Because your audience will have you judged
even before they have time to think about it.
1. Make it all about me
This month Qantas CEO Alan Joyce sent an email to his airline's
frequent flyer members, announcing the reintroduction of A380 flights
after that part of his fleet had been grounded for two weeks by an
engine explosion.
A series of incidents in the last two years have progressively dented
Qantas’ previously impeccable safety reputation, causing increasing
concern among travellers, regulators and the media.
Joyce used 23 to 30 self-references in 11 sentences, depending on
your definition of a self-reference (in this case including I, we, our,
us, Qantas, the A380 fleet). That is two to three self-references
a sentence, leaving readers in no doubt where his focus is.
2. Be unbelievable
Also this month Premier John Brumby addressed his followers and
Victoria's electors after the election night count had shown his best
outcome would be a hung Parliament after a devastating swing
against his Government and the loss of at least 11 seats.
He stressed the good economic performance of his Government,
that he'd learned lessons from the result, and that he and his party
had a vision to try even harder if allowed the opportunity to govern
as a minority Government.
Commentators on the night and following morning felt that most
voters would see him as denying the obvious and underplaying
the defeat he had suffered.
In the same vein the often used but deeply unpopular telephone
message "Your call is important to us" is widely disbelieved by
callers who then move to a labyrinth of menu choices in level
after level of canned messages.
The easy and almost clichéd claim "We care about our
customers/stakeholders/staff" is so readily tested by their target’s
individual experiences that leaders need exceptional cultures to
make it stick.
"The result is guaranteed" might sound strong to the leader, but
listeners who have seen organisations like Ansett, Enron and
Lehman Bros fail are unlikely to believe in the face-value of
guarantees.
3. Show you don't get it
Earlier this year the ANZ Bank ran a campaign theme
"We live in your world." Perhaps some customers buy this,
but many with home mortgages, small business loans or
credit cards saw a self-delusional Emperor wearing no Clothes.
Leaders who claim they are just like you, or they speak your
language risk similar trust busts. Similarly, those who call for
others to trust them are signalling to all that they misunderstand
what it takes to be trusted.
4. Let me tell you why you are wrong and I am right
We often hear leaders say "What you need to understand is...,"
or "It was outside our control," or similar words that show
they see the facts better than others. Even when they do,
others most often will hear a leader who isn’t listening, who
doesn’t really understand his or her audience or the situation.
The same response often follows statements like "The truth is...
The fact is...What this really means is...," "Our products are safe,"
or "This is the perfect answer for you."
These are only four of many common trust busters we hear
leaders frequently using. Often they mean it, and sometimes
it is even true, but mostly they are delusional to think this stuff
works in today's society of sceptics.
The tragedy is that leaders like Joyce and Brumby are
first-class leaders who have a string of quality achievements
behind them. Organisations like the ANZ Bank are
highly successful and worthy of a better reputation.
But they can badly let themselves down in an instant when they
fail to take their audience seriously.
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What are your Biggest Leadership Communication Challenges?
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your leadership success. What is that one thing you would you
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your results? What’s stopping you making that change?
More next month...
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Geoff Kelly works with leaders who are frustrated that others don't fully support their ideas and strategies. He mainly works with corporate leaders around the world, but also leaders in Government and Not for Profit. He is also a popular speaker on this and related subjects. See www.kellystrategicinfluence.com.au, email [email protected] or call +613 9678 9218 for more information
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