How to Empower Your Leadership and Impact Through Trust
In last month’s blog post, I encouraged you to make this new year a banner year for your leadership. To toss aside the rulebooks you never wrote and the playbooks that weren’t ever really yours. This year is about stepping into your next level of leadership, not defined by anyone else but you.
Well, guess what, friend? The future I talked about last month is here—it’s officially 2024. And there’s a new sheriff in town—You. You get to shake things up and decide what kind of powerful woman leader you’ll be. Now, last month, I did give you several things to think about (which you can go back and read), but there was one really important piece I left out. A piece that underpins everything else.
In one word: trust.
I’ve spent a lot of time talking about how one awakens their greatness and becomes an authentic leader. I’ve repeatedly written about women in leadership roles owning, honoring, and embracing their power. And I’ve made a name for myself in empowering women transform their imposter syndrome into their superpower. Every single one of these topics has been ridiculously important to my mission to empower female leaders in STEM.
Trust is the way to empower your leadership!
Yet, trust hasn’t been highlighted, and it’s THE component to greatness, leadership, or making an impact. How do you empower your leadership and impact? Through trust. Trust is defined by our pal Merriam-Webster as assured reliance on the character, ability, strength, or truth of someone or something; one in which confidence is placed. The thing about trust is we often think of it concerning someone else. “I trust my spouse.” “I trust my best friend.” “I trust my cat, Kevin, to make America meow again.”
Trust in others is essential to any relational ecosystem as humans–interpersonal relationships, business partnerships, company teams, departments, patients, and practitioners…the list goes on. Trusting those we rely on is important. Them trusting in us is important, too. But there’s a greater trust equation than the “me to others.” And that’s “me to self.”
Building a culture of trust within ourselves
To lead the lives we desire, to lead our teams, to leave behind a legacy, and to create the biggest impact, we must trust ourselves. Women in leadership roles constantly and actively work to build a culture of trust with their peers and colleagues, their direct reports and supervisors, the upper management and executives–whomever it is that is critical to climbing that ladder and smashing that glass ceiling.
Rarely (and sadly) do the powerful women leaders in STEM actively work on trusting themselves. In some ways, this isn’t that shocking. Generally speaking, women spend more time nurturing those around them before nurturing themselves. It’s why we deprioritize our self-care. But to truly empower your leadership to new heights and increase the level of your impact, you’ll have to spend some more time building a culture of trust within yourself.
Think about it.
You won’t be able to conceive of reaching for that next level if you don’t first trust yourself. To help illustrate, let me identify ten possible successes of women executives in male-dominanted industries trusting themselves more.
Confident Decision-Making: Trusting their instincts and knowledge leads to more decisive and effective decision-making.
Increased Innovation: Self-trust can foster creativity and innovation, as they are more likely to pursue novel ideas and solutions.
Effective Leadership: Confidence in their abilities enhances their leadership style, making them more inspiring and influential leaders.
Career Advancement: Self-trust can lead to taking calculated risks and seizing opportunities, accelerating career progression.
Improved Negotiation Skills: Trusting in their value and capabilities can lead to more successful negotiations, whether for salary, resources, or strategic decisions.
Stronger Executive Presence: Self-assurance enhances their executive presence, making them more compelling and respected professionally.
Enhanced Professional Relationships: Trust in oneself can improve interactions with colleagues and stakeholders, fostering respect and collaboration.
Personal Fulfillment: Self-trust leads to choices that align with personal values and goals, increasing job satisfaction and personal fulfillment.
Resilience in Facing Challenges: Trusting in their ability to handle difficulties can make them more resilient in overcoming workplace challenges and setbacks.
Role Model for Others: Demonstrating self-trust can inspire and empower other women in the industry, contributing to a more inclusive and diverse workplace culture.
These successes benefit the individuals and positively impact their organizations and the broader industry by promoting diversity, innovation, and effective leadership.
I rest my case.
Trusting yourself is the only way to reach your full potential and make all your dreams come true. It’s the foundation of your success and a huge part of your influence.
The spiral of trust and influence
Imagine a spiral. Starting from the bottom of the spiral, as your trust grows, so does your influence and power. When your trust begins to dwindle and shrink–let’s say by a setback, challenge, or something you deem to be a failure, and it rocks your self-trust and confidence–so does your influence and power. One feeds on the other.
If you don’t trust your strengths, skills, or capabilities, no one else will either. You won’t be able to convince the people below you to trust you if you don’t show that you trust yourself. It’s no different than how confidence breeds more confidence. When you’re confident in yourself, you take more chances and are willing to step further outside the lines. That’s when bigger things can happen.
Additionally, when you’re confident in yourself, others are confident in you. Part of the definition of trust is “one in which confidence is placed.” For your team to place their confidence in you, you must place your confidence in you, too. When you do that, you show up powerfully.
How deeply you trust yourself will be visible by how you show up each day in the office, carry yourself, share ideas, make decisions, and lead your team. Your actions influence the behavior of the people around you. This means there’s a correlation between your trust in yourself and the trust you receive from others.
Again, you can’t empower your leadership or increase your impact if you don’t trust yourself. So, over the next twelve months, we’ll dive into trusting yourself–trusting your voice, your mind, and your body–and how building a culture of trust within yourself leads to building a culture of trust within your teams and your companies. And when trust is in place, the possibilities are endless, and so are your potential and impact.
So, toss on your boots and get ready to kick up some dust. This year, you’re going to talk a different talk and walk a different walk, and see how everyone around you shifts as they watch you develop a greater trust in yourself and become an even more powerful woman leader in STEM.
Let’s infuse your early days of the new year with more trust in yourself and really begin to empower your leadership to new levels. Join me for my monthly Empowered Hour, where you’ll be a part of a beautiful think tank of other powerful women in leadership roles who are also looking to cultivate more trust within themselves. You’re never alone, and help is never far away. I’ve got you.
