Remember the video of an airline forcibly removing a passenger from a flight that had been overbooked? In the aftermath of that public relations debacle many passengers who fly that airline (like me) were left wondering, "Hmmm....could that happen to me??" In other words, am I safe with this airline? Can I trust that they will honor the ticket I've purchased from them?

Then, there was another situation that occurred when a pilot from this airline showed up to her flight dressed in civilian clothing and not in her pilot uniform. I can imagine the thoughts in the mind of the passengers and crew as they saw someone who looked like a passenger enter the cockpit. I know what my thoughts would be!

BUT, IT GETS BETTER!

This pilot then started what was described as a "long, bizarre speech" on the aircraft's PA system that referenced Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton and a comment directed towards an interracial couple seated near her. Here is what one passenger Tweeted while this was happening...

Randy Reiss @undeadsinatra So, y'all. I'm shaking right now. I just left my ----- flight 455 'cos the captain demonstrated that she was not mentally in a safe space.

The passengers on that flight did not feel safe with her being the pilot because they did not trust her ability to fly the plane.

The foundation of a high-performance team, your department, your community, your region, your portfolio, your company are based on the same things that made passengers want to get off that flight; the same things that might make a potential customer think twice before booking a flight on that airline...

SAFETY and TRUST

If you want to create a high-performance team you need to create a foundation of safety and trust. In fact safety and trust is really the foundation of all of our relationships. Think about it. If you've ever ended a relationship my guess is that safety and/or trust was broken or diminished. A friend betrayed your confidence. A boyfriend wasn't who he presented him to be. A family member keeps criticizing every thing you say or do, until you don't want to share anything anymore. 

Do you have one person in your life that you could call if you found yourself in a tough situation at 2am, regardless of the situation? Then you know the benefit of safety and trust!

Do you have someone that you would NEVER call at 2am because by 2:01am there would something posted on social media, "Hey, guess who I got a call from! #Secrets #ItsTheQuietOnes #MindBlown" about your situation? Well, then you know the importance of safety and trust as well!

How do you create Safety and Trust on your team? In my leadership classes I unpack this in greater detail, however I will tell you that in my experience working with people around the nation I believe that there are two key areas that develop a feeling of safety and trust...

COMPETENCE:

You cannot show up for work like the pilot I mentioned earlier in this post and expect your team to buy into you and work towards the Common Purpose I talked about in Part Two of this series! So...

• You need to do your job and do it well. 
• Your people need to know that you can do your job and do it well. 
• Your pedigree doesn't matter. What you did before. What your title was or is now. Those things may have gotten you in the door-but once you've walked in the door what matters to your people are the results. Can they look at you and say, "S/he knows what s/he's doing!"?

Next you have to help develop the competence of your people!

• Do your people know what to do and how to do it?
• Do they have the tools they need to do the job you've asked them to do?

CARE:

How long could you work for someone who you felt didn't give a rip about you? Would you stay in a friendship if you felt your "friend" didn't really care about you? Guess what, neither will your people! As I mentioned in a previous post 70% of employees are disengaged. And surveys show that 75% of employees that quit a job do so because of their boss!

So, how do you show your people you care?

• Start by doing your job well and helping them do the same.
• Then create an atmosphere where they feel that they can be themselves. 
• Find opportunities to connect with them consistently.
• Help them feel like they BELONG!

Creating a high-performance culture is not a spectator sport friends! You need to jump in, get into the arena, roll up your sleeves and get messy, dirty, awkward, excited, angry, frustrated, excited, passionate and engaged with your people! And you need to give them reasons to feel safe with you and to trust you. It's not easy, but it's worth it!

Read Part One

Read Part Two

Read Part Four