You can show someone a better way to do something, but they will not adopt your approach until they trust you.
Never is this more true than when trying to lead peers. Colleagues may resent or even fear assistance from a peer. Peer-to-peer leadership is seldom easy, but it is not impossible.
Leading colleagues rests upon two principles: understanding need and delivering value. You must understand the situation a peer is facing and you must have the skills to help him or her succeed. So, it’s important to consider what the need is and what value you can offer. So let’s define our terms.
When you deliver for others, they begin to trust you and become receptive to what you have to offer.
John Baldoni is chair of leadership development at N2Growth, is an internationally recognized leadership educator and executive coach. In 2014, Trust Across America named him to its list of top 100 most trustworthy business experts. Also in 2014, Inc.com named Baldoni to its list of top 100 leadership experts, and Global Gurus ranked him No. 11 on its list of global leadership experts. Baldoni is the author of more than a dozen books, including his newest, “MOXIE: The Secret to Bold and Gutsy Leadership.”
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