A Matter of Trust

by Dr. John C. Maxwell

In the fall of 1982, seven people in Chicago's West Side died after taking Extra-Strength Tylenol capsules that had been laced with cyanide. When the deaths were linked to Tylenol, executives at Johnson & Johnson were faced with a monumental choice: shirk responsibility and assert that the tampering had occurred after the product had reached store shelves, or hold them accountable for the entire disaster and take drastic steps to restore trust in their brand and their company.

They chose the latter.

They immediately told customers across the country not to consume any Tylenol products until they could determine the extent of the tampering. They halted all advertising and production of the brand. And they recalled all Tylenol capsules from the market--about 31 million bottles with a retail value of more than $100 million.

These actions, along with other steps Johnson & Johnson took when it reintroduced Tylenol later, helped restore the public's faith in the company. The fact that corporate leaders valued character more than their own success is a key reason why Johnson & Johnson was able to emerge from this crisis with its good reputation--and its most profitable brand--still intact.

You may not be guiding a large corporation through a national public relations nightmare, but maintaining the trust of the people you lead is as important to you as restoring the trust of the American public was to Johnson & Johnson in the early '80s. That's because leadership functions on the basis of trust; it is the foundation upon which every relationship--at work, at home, in the community or anywhere else--is built.

As the makers of Tylenol realized, trust isn't automatic; it must be earned. You can't demand it from others; you receive it. But you receive it only when you have three key attributes: character, competence and consistency. These three must mesh together for you to build trust and receive trust from the people you are leading.

Of course, once you have the trust of your people, you have to maintain it. If you slack off and start thinking only of yourself, you'll betray that trust and your ability to lead will be severely compromised. Fortunately, there are certain steps you can take to keep that from happening. Here are a few:

1. Focus on shared goals more than personal agendas.

Never forget the fact that you are leading your company, office, team or department for the benefit of the people. When it comes to trust, it’s not all about you.

2. Stay away from politics.

Let it be known that you can’t be bought. Don’t even think about going down that road.

3. Do the right thing regardless of personal risk.

If doing what’s right causes you to get hurt, then grit your teeth and take the pain. That’s what it means to be a leader.

4. Be accountable to others.

Don't rely solely on your own judgment to keep you on track. Ask a few trusted colleagues or mentors to keep tabs on how you're doing in all these areas.

5. Follow the Golden Rule.

Treat people the way you want to be treated. It’s that simple.

6. Make sure what you say matches what you do.

This is, by far, the best way to earn and maintain the trust of the people you're leading. On the flip side, the quickest way to betray their trust is to say one thing and do another. If you want a concrete example of this, I have one word for you: Enron.

Next time you visit your local pharmacy, swing by the over-the-counter painkillers aisle and survey the number of products that bear the Tylenol brand. Burn that image in your mind and call it up occasionally, just to remind yourself about the importance of trust in your role as a leader. As Warren Bennis says, “ Without {trust}, the leader cannot function.”