The Seven Phases of Authenticity Leadership and Building Trust

This web extra goes into more detail on the seven phases of authenticity leadership and building trust that is highlighted in the Careers column in this issue.

Phase 1: Fear

Themes

• Unknowns about virus
• Information Overload
• Fear can be irrational

Tips for building Trust

• Be vulnerable, empathic, and honest even when answers are unknown.
• Limit robotic nature of communication, be present, don’t hide behind technology
• Be purposeful, collaborate with staff to provide control and shared decision making, close loop communication

Phase 2: Innovation

Themes

• Cracks and opportunities expose themselves
• Speed to execution is imperative

Tips for building Trust

• Collaboration was needed to manage change.  Collaboration can bridge gaps, negotiate and eliminate overlap in roles and tasks, and create an environment for partnership to accomplish the work needed (Schot, Tummers, & Noordegraaf, 2019).
• Decisions could not be made in silos, and all input was considered valuable to keep leaders engaging in a rapidly changing environment.  Steven Covey shares when there is high trust there is increase speed and decrease cost, and building trust through collaboration was imperative (Covey & Merrill, 2018).

Phase 3: Acknowledgement

Themes

• Appropriate recognition is valued
• Strong leaders rise to the top

Tips for building Trust

• Recognition has its largest effect on trust when it occurs immediately, when it’s tangible, when it’s unexpected, personal, and public (Zak, 2017).
• Top leaders and performers rose to the occasion during the pandemic, and often the employees and leaders recognized weren’t always the most skilled, but were individuals who were highly reliable and trustworthy that made the biggest difference.

Phase 4: Anger

Themes

• Hospital business models changing
• Explaining the “Why” behind decision making

Tips for building Trust

• This trend impacted the morale and the commitment of some healthcare professionals. During this phase of the pandemic it was challenging to maintain an engaged workplace. Leadership became the key driver, as effective leaders have the ability to shape employees’ work attitudes and behaviors (Oh, Cho, & Lim, 2018).
• Authentic leaders are able to explain information transparently because they have a pattern of behavior that promotes both positive psychological capacities and positive ethical climates which foster great self-awareness, and internalized moral perspective. Authentic leaders have an ability to also balance processing of information and are comfortable with relational transparency which helps messaging become more relatable (Oh et. al, 2018).

Phase 5: Apathy

Themes

Lack of human capital and resources and surge planning begins again

Tips for building Trust

We built trust again- based on the three core drivers of authenticity, empathy, and logic (Frei & Morriss, 2020). We listened, we started “listening sessions in each department and staff began to talk again and collaboration and two way communication was re-instilled. Validation of concerns was imperative.

Phase 6: Hope

Themes

Vaccination planning begins

Tips for building Trust

Nothing through this pandemic was easy, even when hope was the overarching expectation. Many questions still remained to be answered. Transparency was crucial to maintain trust as there were concerns in the decisions regarding who received the vaccine in what order. Leaders needed to demonstrate respect, create transparency, confront reality, listen first, and probably most important in this phase- right wrongs (Covey & Merrill, 2018).

Phase 7: Unknown/Future

Themes

• Physical and mental concerns of healthcare workers
• Future of healthcare

Tips for building Trust

• Some research has already shown that psychological impacts on healthcare workers include: depression, stress, anxiety, distress, anger, fear, insomnia, and post-traumatic stress disorders (Shaukat, Ali, & Razzak, 2020). It will be imperative for leaders to recognize these situations and protect the well-being of their staff through appropriate and timely measures.
• Authentic leaders that not only build trust with others, but also trust themselves will be crucial during the next phases and recovery from the pandemic. To be a truly empowering leader, leaders need to take stock of where their opportunities lie not only in relationships with others but also in the relationship with themselves (Frei and Morris, 2020).