Trust, not frameworks, is the key to effective leadership.
Each year, I look forward to the invitation to share my insights on leadership with student leaders from HCI.
This year, I was once again given the opportunity and I shared that trust is the foundation of effective leadership. Because, without trust, the leader's intentions will be questioned and their actions viewed with skepticism.
To foster trust, I suggested that leaders needed to embrace openness and transparency. This is because openness and transparency demonstrates integrity and honesty - the very foundations of trust.
I added that as leadership inherently involves balancing trade-offs, trust that the decisions serve the greater good is essential for its acceptance. Hence, while openness and transparency can involve difficult conversations, it is, in my opinion, the only way to build the needed trust.
Looking forward to next year. Hopefully, they invite me again.
