One Meeting Minute Thought for Your Week
As a leader you’re always looking for ways to deepen trust with everyone you work with.
Trust is the foundation of every relationship we have including those at work.
To be a successful leader, you want people to trust you and you want to trust other people.
And of course, you want people throughout your organization to trust one another.
Your meetings provide the perfect spot to build and deepen trust.
Deepen trust through your meetings
You can deepen trust through your meetings by:
✅ Being trustworthy
✅ Being transparent
✅ Being curious
✅ Being humble
✅ Trusting others
✅ Seeking to serve
✅ Challenging with respect
Deepen trust by being trustworthy
We’ve got to start with the obvious.
If you want other people to trust you, you must be trustworthy.
There’s no getting around this truth.
And the longer you demonstrate a track record of being someone people can trust, the more you’ll deepen trust with your coworkers.
So how do you do this through your meetings?
Like so many other “secrets” to being successful in life, the answer is simple but not easy.
Here are 3 practical steps you can take in your meetings to show you’re trustworthy.
1. If you accept a meeting invitation, attend the meeting.
My clients tell me this is one of their biggest pet peeves about meetings.
Their teammates RSVP with “Accept” but don’t show up.
When a person does this repeatedly, the meeting leader is never sure if that coworker is going to be there – even when they do accept the invitation.
In other words, they can’t trust this person.
2. Complete your action items on time or early.
When you’re the owner of a task, people are counting on you to finish your work by the time you say you will.
Don’t give them a reason to doubt your trustworthiness by being late.
3. Start and end your meetings on time
You’ve made a commitment when you schedule time on your coworkers’ calendars.
They’re trusting you with their most valuable resource, their time.
So don’t let them down!
And, these three can be summarized with the simplest (but hardest) action of all:
✅ Keep your word – do what you say you’re going to do.
Deepen trust by being transparent
A recent experience reminded me of how you can deepen trust by being transparent in meetings.
A team had created a new dashboard to show the status of a project.
But, the parameters for deciding if a deliverable was Red, Yellow, or Green were still being refined.
So, the person who was going to present the dashboard in an upcoming meeting with senior leaders asked an insightful question to a group of us who were supporting him.
“Should we present this dashboard in our next meeting?
We haven’t got all the details worked out.
It could introduced confusion and we might be perceived as not knowing what we’re doing.”
Here’s what I suggested:
“Your dashboard isn’t perfect, but it contains important information the senior leaders need to know.
Include the dashboard in the presentation.
And, clearly explain in the notes you include with the pre-read material which status parameters are not yet finalized.
Then reinforce this message while you’re presenting.”
My recommendation was based on my firm belief that this approach would deepen trust with the senior leaders.
By being transparent, the project leader would demonstrate the diligence the team is using to decide if a deliverable is on track to be completed on time.
The leaders would understand that the Red, Yellow, Green indicators are being set with great care.
Instead of raising concerns about the project team not being competent, it would have the opposite effect.
The transparency of the team leader will deepen trust in the team and their ability to successfully complete the project.
Deepen trust by being curious
It’s much easier to trust someone who wants to learn and hear what you have to say.
Being curious builds trust with your coworkers.
And, you can deepen trust through your meetings by, as Michael Bungay Stanier teaches in his outstanding book, The Advice Trap, “staying curious just a little bit longer.”
Instead of rushing to give advice, pause and listen.
Seek input from other participants in the meetings you lead and attend.
Before you share your perspective, say something like this:
“I have some thoughts on this, but I’m curious to hear what you have to say, Maureen. I know you have more experience in this area than I do.”
When you make this statement in a meeting, Maureen is going to trust you more because she realizes you value her input.
And the rest of the group will recognize you’re open to hearing perspectives that may be different than your own.
Genuinely curious leaders are more trustworthy than those who are close-minded and not willing to listen to anyone who might challenge their thinking.
So deepen trust through your meetings by being (and staying) curious.
But, you’ll only be able to do this if you apply the next tip.
Deepen trust by being humble
To be curious you must be humble.
You’ll never develop and deepen trust with others by being arrogant.
There are many ways to demonstrate humility in your meetings.
Some are obvious like:
- Not dominating the conversation
- Not boasting to make yourself look good
- Not tearing others down to protect your ego
Other actions humble leaders take are more subtle.
This one for instance may not initially seem like humility:
- Confidently provide your perspective when you’re the expert
Taking this step DOES demonstrate humility if you agree with one of my favorite definitions of the term.
Humility is to make a right estimate on one’s self.
Charles Haddon Spurgeon
Spurgeon, a preacher who lived in England in the late 1800’s, exposes the fallacy of “false humility”.
You shouldn’t think too highly or too lowly of yourself, but rather be objective.
You can be humble and deepen trust with your coworkers by embracing your gifts and skills and using them for the good of your business.
So, if you should and do know the right answer to a question being asked in a meeting, speak up!
You’ll also make the meeting more productive by not forcing the meeting leader to waste time dragging the information out of you because you’re afraid of appearing like an arrogant know-it-all.
More Resources to Help You Build Your Career and Your Business
This issue of M4 builds on this previous M4 discussion you might find interesting:
✅ M4 028: How To Start Building Trust In Your Meetings (click here)
I elaborate on the topic of humility in this blog post:
✅ Can I be Humble and Successful on a Team? (click here)
For more on the power of curiosity check out Michael Bungay Stanier’s outstanding book:
✅ The Advice Trap – Be Humble, Stay Curious & Change the Way You Lead Forever (click here)
And Now a Word from Our Sponsors
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That’s All for this Issue
I know what you’re thinking and can hear you now:
“Hang on!
You only covered 4 steps to deepen trust through meetings, Greg.
You said you were going to share 7.”
You’re right, but I did a quick word count and recognized that putting all seven in one issue of M4 – the Monday Morning Meeting Minute, would really be stretching the “one minute” guideline.
So, I’ll continue with the other 3 steps to deepen trust through meetings in the next M4 issue.
Thanks for reading and I hope you’re looking forward to next week’s issue.
Let’s lead with kindness and confidence!
Greg
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