{"id":1686,"date":"2014-08-13T07:17:34","date_gmt":"2014-08-13T11:17:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.trustacrossamerica.com\/blog\/?p=1686"},"modified":"2014-08-13T07:17:34","modified_gmt":"2014-08-13T11:17:34","slug":"lead-from-the-front","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.trustacrossamerica.com\/blog\/?p=1686","title":{"rendered":"Lead From the Front"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Late last year\u00a0Trust Across America-Trust Around the World\u00a0<\/a>\u00a0published the first in a planned\u00a0series of award-winning books.\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0TRUST INC., Strategies for Building Your Company’s Most Valuable Asset<\/em>\u00a0<\/a>brings together the wisdom of 32 experts. Six months later we released our second book,\u00a0Trust Inc. A Guide for Boards & C-Suites<\/a>.\u00a0<\/em>In this book,<\/em>\u00a0sixty\u00a0experts have joined forces to offer 100 strategies.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Throughout the month of\u00a0August, we will be featuring 31 essays from our second book. Each stands alone\u00a0as an excellent resource in guiding Boards and C-Suites on driving a trust agenda at the highest level in the organization, and provides tools for those who choose to implement trust-building programs in their organization.<\/p>\n

This thirteenth essay in our series brings advice\u00a0from \u00a0Joe Anderson, a retired Marine Officer. \u00a0Joe has held executive operations roles in Fortune 500 companies, been a business owner and is currently a Partner at\u00a0<\/span>Anderson Performance Partners <\/a>LLC,\u00a0<\/span>working with organizations to improve business operations, processes and leadership. Joe works with organizations to uncover opportunities, and resolve challenges that organizations are sometimes too close to see. He has a successful track record in developing effective business leadership and business processes throughout organizations.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Lead from the Front<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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As a leader, you can\u2019t ask an employee to do something you wouldn\u2019t be willing to do.<\/em><\/p>\n

When I was a U. S. Marine, both as an enlisted Marine and an Officer, a fundamental element of leadership was that leaders lead from the front, not from behind. If you\u2019re going to ask a young PFC to lead on point, then you should\u00a0<\/em>be right there with him. If not there, he should know that you have been there. Showing that you care for your people and are willing to share their hardship builds trust and camaraderie between the leader and those they lead.<\/em><\/p>\n

As a business leader, I found that far too many \u201cleaders\u201d led from their desk and had no idea about what their folks were doing or how they did it. A practice I implemented in the companies I\u2019ve led was leading by wandering around, taking the time to sit with folks in their work area, learn what they did, how they did it and why. It seemed odd to new teams at first, wondering why I spent so much time away from my desk. My response was simple, my job is to lead and you lead from the front. If I ask you to do something, I should be willing to be a partner in understanding what you are doing, how you are doing it and what you face.<\/em><\/p>\n

The practice served me well. I have never had filters between my employees and me, which has allowed me to be very connected to them, their work and their challenges.<\/em><\/p>\n

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I hope you have enjoyed this next sneak peak into our second book.\u00a0If this brief look behind the door has been helpful,\u00a0follow\u00a0this link<\/a>\u00a0to order both of our books online.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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And for those who want to catch up on the series, a quick reference on what’s been covered so far this month:<\/strong><\/div>\n

August 1:\u00a0There’s a Reason Why We Call Them Trustees<\/a>\u00a0explains why\u00a0being an “absentee landlord” doesn’t work.<\/p>\n

August 2:\u00a0Kill the Evening Before Dinner<\/a>\u00a0and take a small group of front line employees to dinner instead.<\/p>\n

August 3:\u00a0In Head of Business- Hope for the World<\/a>\u00a0we introduce the Winston “V” Model.<\/p>\n

August 4:\u00a0Reputation vs. Trust<\/a>\u00a0and why leaders should care more about the latter.<\/p>\n

August 5:\u00a0C-Suite Must Speak With a V.O.I.C.E. of Trust<\/a>, a new communications model.<\/p>\n

August 6:\u00a0It Ain’t What You Do (It’s the Way You Do It)<\/a>\u00a0discusses an organization’s core values and traits.<\/p>\n

August 7:\u00a0Superficial CEOs and Their Boards<\/a>\u00a0talks about the fiduciary responsibility of board members.<\/p>\n

August 8:\u00a0Headline: Be the Leaders Others Will Follow<\/a>\u00a0we learn about consistency between actions and words.<\/p>\n

August 9:\u00a0Towards a Mindset for Corporate Responsibility<\/a>\u00a0requiring a shift in mindset on the part of boards.<\/p>\n

August 10:\u00a0Warning: Don’t Drown in the Slogan Swamp<\/a>\u00a0explores the (mis)use of slogans in corporate America.<\/p>\n

August 11:\u00a0Trust in the Boardroom<\/a>\u00a0in creating competitive advantage.<\/p>\n

August 12: Three Ways to Build Trust <\/a>\u00a0and organization that are blind to the dialogue.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Barbara Brooks Kimmel<\/strong>\u00a0is the Executive Director of\u00a0Trust Across America-Trust Around the World<\/a>\u00a0whose mission is to help organizations build trust. She is also the editor of the award winning\u00a0TRUST INC.<\/a>\u00a0book series. In 2012 Barbara was named “One of 25 Women Changing the World” by Good Business International.<\/p>\n

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Should you wish\u00a0to communicate directly with Barbara, drop her a note at\u00a0Barbara@trustacrossamerica.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Copyright \u00a9 2014, Next Decade, Inc.<\/p>\n