Verify, But Trust – A Leadership Quest

“Words are just words until actions support them.”

– John Fairclough

So many promises and statements are made that just don’t sit right with us. They are the words we may have wanted to hear, but for some reason we don’t trust them. I’ve been told “I support your decision” and the like for years, only to see the person’s actions fail to reinforce this. Sure, they are able to point out a bunch of instances where they have supported a decision, but when pressed, I have seen them revert to what they believe is best. This is tough for a leader, as they are typically looking at a larger perspective and may be able to see risks others are blind to.

At the end of the day though, building a leadership team requires trust. In the words of Ronald Reagan – “Trust, but verify.” To which I like a like to reorder into “Verify, but trust”. I want to verify what my leadership team tells me. More importantly, I want to trust them. I verify what they tell me to help them stay on track and to bring risks to my attention  for counsel.
One of the neat things about Resicom is how many things run upstream and downstream the same way – our communications, goals to be a great company, and so forth. To verify support for an initiative, we are going to check into what actions are saying. We already do this with projects – we ask for a sign off documentation, photos that support a claim, and a clock in/out through a computer system. All of this to prove someone did what they say they did. It is reasonable then, to expect to have to deliver proof when requested by a leader. If your words are in alignment, and your actions support your words, we are probably in good shape.

How can you make it easier for your team to support your decisions? How can you verify they are supporting them?