Ordinarily on a typical Friday, I might be jotting down a few words about having faith in yourself. Today, I’m writing on a different point of view – having faith in other people, specifically the people you work with.
I’ve had my share of disagreements with clients, agents, employees and employers over the years, and I’m not proud of them – at least I’m not proud of all of them. Some of those people were real weasels; other people were disagreeable by nature — but still others were simply people with a different point of view, (even though I’m certain that they were usually wrong and I was usually right.)
Anyway, most of the time, the people I’ve worked with, the people I’ve worked for, and those who I’ve attempted to lead, have been people who wanted to contribute, wanted to do a good job, and wanted to make a difference. Sometimes, they didn’t know exactly how to do such a thing. Other times, they needed a bit of motivation to get them on the right path.
But by and large, the people I’ve had the opportunity to know in life have been overwhelmingly good people. I’ve always believed that as a leader, you have to hire the right people, give them the support and resources they need, and then get out of their way – and I think most would agree that I am the antithesis of a micro-manager. I watch other leaders who micro-manage, who question and blame, who simply don’t have faith in their peers to get the job done. Frankly, I’m guilty of that from time to time but I have come to realize over time that faith in other people can go a long way. Faith in many ways in synonymous with trust and trust as anyone knows must be earned. But if we begin by having trust in someone’s capabilities and faith in their ability to execute, I think overall people sense that, appreciate that and do everything they can to rise to your expectations.
Have a great weekend!
