Operating with truth is a common value for organizations. But its frequent usage can make you numb to its true meaning as a Leader.

Can’t you picture the stock corporate motivational poster hanging in a conference room with the word “Integrity” emblazoned under a picture of a tree? 

Truth shouldn’t hang on your wall stagnant. It should move you. When truth is internalized as a value, it affects how you Lead, how you show up for your team, and how you serve your clients. 

Defining Truth & Trust

The Dictionary definition of “Truth” is that which is in accordance with fact or reality. 

To lead with truth, you must look at yourself and your business as it really is — flaws and all.

You need to be honest about what you are and what you are not to know what you need to be a better Leader and how to guide your team. 

Any Leader moved by truth is also operating in trust.

Trust is a firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability or strength of someone or something.

Leading with trust means doing what you say you are going to do, delivering what you promise, and presenting yourself and your business accurately.

Most importantly, it means setting the example that you expect from your team. 

To have a trustworthy team, you must be a Leader worth trusting. 

A trustworthy Leader does not ask the team to do anything she wouldn’t do herself. She welcomes hard conversations, admits mistakes, and makes it right when she misses the mark. 

Team Empowerment

Allowing truth to move you as a Leader, and being a Leader worth trusting ultimately results in respect from your team and your clients. 

Your team knows you are willing to go to bat for them. You have their back when a client is dissatisfied, and are willing to stand up for the truth even if a client doesn’t see it that way. This is empowering!

Embodying the organizational values of truth, trust and integrity discourages opportunistic behavior from team members. It also encourages them to show up as stakeholders, rather than employees clocking in for the paycheck. 

As stakeholders, team members are working with you, sharing your vision for the business, operating with your values and treating the business like their own. 

They are receptive to your feedback and willing to go the distance, that is if you are willing to call greatness out of them and motivate them even in hard times. 

They own their role and the outcomes you delegate to them. 

Teams who show up as stakeholders have your trust, and enable you to delegate with confidence so you can focus on moving the needle in your business.

This symbiotic relationship between being a trusted Leader and having a team worth trusting creates momentum in your business. You are guaranteed to move forward!

It’s not enough to say you are a company founded in integrity. You must show that you live out your organizational values in all that you do. 

This example sets the tone for your team to follow, and results in trustworthiness and respect from your team and clients.