According to more recent Maritz Research poll, only 7% of employees trust senior leaders to look out for their best interests and 25% do not trust management to make the right decisions in times of uncertainty.

Trust in business leaders is already low and still falling.

© istockphoto / PhotoEuphoria

The first job of a leader is to be trusted. If others lack confidence in you, then you have little influence.

How do you help others rely on you?

The same New York Times poll gives us a hint. Another question indicates that people expect 85% of the people they know personally to “try to be fair.”

Is building trust really that simple? No. But getting to know someone personally is certainly the first step for building trust, it is the fertile ground that trust can grow in.

How well do people know you? Can they relate to you?

How can we expect people to trust us, to be influenced by us, when we do not let them get to know us? We often prevent others from getting to know us personally, trying to remain aloof and business-like. We spend too much time talking to a person’s brain, but never engaging their heart. For many, our feelings, not our thoughts, determine whether we trust someone.

Here are five specific things you can do to help people know you better:

1. Share personal stories that captures who you are and what makes you tick.
2. Communicate the beliefs and principles that guide your decision-making.
3. Open yourself up to questions.
4. Show an interest in other people lives.
5. Demonstrate your trust in them.

How well does your team know you? And how well do you know them. Take time and build a foundation of trust.

Nancy has been on a mission to find the DNA of great speeches and presentations – MLK’s I Have a Dream speech, Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, Steve Job’s iPhone introduction, and more. In the following TEDxEast video, she shares with us her discovery and gives us the pattern we need to follow to become master communicators.

Nancy’s aha is as simple as effectively contrasting the difference between ‘what is’ and ‘what could be’ over and over again before giving the audience a compelling call to action. This is certainly easier said than done, but the insight is as powerful as it is simple.

How are you going to put this elegant pattern to work for you?

© istockphoto / DNY59

Covey calls these beliefs our moral compass. Peter Senge calls them mental models. They are the lens through which we view the world. They influence how we perceive and respond to all that happens.

These beliefs are not corporate values we aspire to, but instead the principles that determine what we think, say, and do. I often think of Enron, and their corporate values of communication, respect, integrity, and excellence. For them and many others, their values represent things that they were have the most difficult time doing.

So what do great leaders deeply believe? What mental models guide them? Here are five principles I consistently see great leaders believe in and act on.

1. My greatest motivation comes from living my purpose.

When I chase after results, for the sake of results, my energy wanes and I struggle. When I am fueled and inspired by a purposeful mission I am passionate and fully engaged in my work.

2. We can do whatever we set our minds to.

For many, the greatest impediment is self-doubt. It is more powerful than gravity for some. I believe that whatever my mind “can conceive and believe, it can achieve.” I also understand that success is not about me, it’s about the team, it’s about us.

3. Everyone is worthy of deep regard and compassion.

I see people not as objects to be used for my advantage, but as remarkable individuals of great worth and value. I strive to treat everyone with dignity and respect. When I hold others accountable, I am motivated by my love for them and their potential.

4. I actively choose to respond productively to whatever happens to me.

Things often don’t work out as I think they should, however, I choose to learn and grow from all my experiences. I realize that when I harbor anger and frustration towards someone, I am actually hurting myself and limiting my ability to grow and develop.

5. I can increase my abilities and performance through diligent practice.

Greatness is not born,I create it through diligent, disciplined practice. I work consistently at improving my greatest strengths and addressing those flaws that most hold me back.

Reflect on how well your beliefs match up. In particular, consider times when your words or actions were contrary to these beliefs and ask yourself why. Remember, you can rewire your mind for greatness.

Eric Heiden winning the 1,500 meters in speedskating at the 1980 Winter Games in Lake Placid, N.Y. (Photo: Associated Press via the New York Times)

One concept that is particularly interesting to me is the energy we create as we transform our desire into will. But it has a dark side.

Many of us work endlessly trying to achieve our goals and satiate our desires. However, all too often our optimism and hope decay into feelings of confusion and disappointment.

The upside of is when it becomes our will.

[Desire] is an essential energy that exists in the pursuit of realizing one’s own life dream. However, only when this energy of desire is strengthen and transformed into the energy of will can your goal–whatever it is–be achieved fully and at the highest level.

So what is the different between desire and will?

Desire is the hope for the result. Will is the choice to do what is necessary to make the hope a reality. Olympic gold medalist, Eric Heiden, captures the concept with his oft-used phrase, “Put the hammer down.”

I could say that I want to get up early tomorrow and exercise, but will is what I need when my alarm goes off at 5:30AM. When I hear the alarm, I need to put the hammer down. As I lay in bed, the potential energy of desire dissipates as I lay in bed. If I act, the potential energy of desire becomes the kinetic energy of will.

The lesson, understand that our desires are powerful, but short-lived. We need to act on desires quickly to harness the energy our purpose brings to us.

Am I acting on my purpose today or am I letting my wish just evaporate or worse, turn into discouragement or despair?

Most mission statements describe, but never inspire. They use words like “be the best at…” or “being a leader in the…” They explain the what, not the why. Holstee’s mission is different. It answers the question of “why?” powerfully.

The Holstee Manifesto

It continues…

“If you don’t like something, change it. If you don’t like your job, quit. If you don’t have enough time, stop watching TV. If you looking for the love of your life, stop; they will be waiting for you when you start doing the things you love…”

Holstee’s manifesto is so powerful it has gone viral, become a poster,and a inspiration to many, not just their employees.

It ends with…

“Life is about the people you meet, and the things you create with them, so go out and start creating. Life is short. Live your dream and share your passion.”

Does your mission:

• Explain what motivates you and your team?
• Create energy and passion for your cause? It’s a cause, right?
• Make you proud of what you do and the good it creates?
• Help you measure the true meaning of your work?
• Bring out the best in you?

Unfortunately, good mission statements are a rarity.

Is it time to give your mission statement an upgrade?

We can only hope for what we desire.
- C.S. Lewis

With no desire, there is nothing to hope for.

Our deep desires don’t always create hope, but there isn’t anything that I hope for that I don’t desire.

What are your deepest desires? And what hope do you have for them?

Then pick a 30 day challenge and get out of your rut.

My 30 day challenge is to write 750 words a day on my book that currently has a working title of “What Do Extraordinary Leaders Believe?”

Let me know what 30 day challenge you’re taking on. I’d love to hear and support your efforts.

For many, the hero represent our greatest hope for ourselves. They introduce us to a mythic journey every hero takes from ordinary to extraordinary.

Joseph Campbell was expert in mythology who wrote extensively about the path heroes from every time and culture take. He called it the hero’s journey.In fact, Campbell mentored George Lucas and the hero’s journey was elegantly woven into Star Wars. Campbell believed that “a hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself.” He would often go on to say, ”Follow your bliss and the universe will open doors where there were only walls.” In other words, make the choice to awake and follow your purpose and the opportunities to achieve it will present themselves.

The journey starts deep within ourselves as we question our own assumptions, mental models, and beliefs. As our self-awareness grows, we gain the ability see the inconsistent and false beliefs that trip us up. Our purpose pulls us in the direction of the hero’s journey. We get powerfully motivated to diligently practice the skills and behaviors that will help us work efficiently and achieve our purpose.

Remember, it’s never too late to be super! If you haven’t started already, start now.

© catfordCelt via Flickr

To better understand what your WHY should be and avoiding getting stuck in a WHAT rut, ask yourself:

• What is the purpose of _______________ ? (putting the customer first)
• Why would we want to  _______________?*
• Why would customers want us to _______________ ?

If your answer to these questions is to generate revenue, profit, or market share, think again. None of these things directly benefits your customers. Your WHY needs to be good for you and your customers.

Here are the WHYs of a few companies:

• No Software! – Salesforce.com
• Let’s Build a Smarter Planet – IBM
• A computer in every home and on every desktop – Microsoft (years ago)
• To inspire moments of optimism and happiness… – Coca-Cola

Great leaders and great companies inspire action by starting with why, not what (see the Holstee Manifesto). Rather than say what they want you to do, or what product they want you to buy, they start with why–their purpose or core belief. They understand that emotions are connected with purpose.

If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up the men to gather wood, divide the work and give orders. Instead, teach them to yearn for the vast and endless sea.
— Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Apple doesn’t inspire action by talking about the great, feature-rich computers they make, they do so by helping us understand that they want to help people think differently.

Simon Sinek, author of Start with Why, recently gave a talk at TEDxPugetSound that captures why great people and great companies start with ‘why’ when motivating others.

Watch the first 10 or 11 minutes and ask yourself:

• Do I lead ‘what→how→why’ or ‘why→how→what’?
• Does my company market its products or services ‘what→how→why’ or ‘why→how→what’?

If you don’t lead with why (and I don’t much of the time), take the next step with me and start leading with purpose.