Recently I was channel surfing while watching TV and I ran across a showing of the Blue Collar Comedy Tour. Larry the Cable Guy was one of the featured performers, and if you’ve seen his act before, you know his signature catch-phrase is “Git R Done!” Now, normally I wouldn’t recommend listening to Larry the Cable Guy for advice on building trust in relationships, but it struck me that if you’re a leader known as someone who can “Git-R-Done,” the chances are you’re considered a trustworthy individual.

Trust in relationships is comprised of four elements: Ability, Believability, Connectedness, and Dependability (TrustWorks!® ABCD Model). Part of being an able, competent leader is knowing how to get things done. Yet with today’s flat organizations and wide span of control, it’s impossible for a leader to know the answer to every problem that crops up.

A leader has to rely on problem-solving and decision-making skills to facilitate work getting done in the organization. Herman Cain, former CEO of Godfather’s Pizza, who recently announced his candidacy for the 2012 GOP presidential nomination, has said that he succeeded in business for over 40 years by asking the right questions of the right people about the right problems to get to the right solutions.

Trustworthy leaders also make sure employees receive the right amount of direction and support to be successful in their jobs. The leader owes it to the employee to set clear goals and performance expectations up front, and then give regular, timely, and meaningful feedback on performance along the way so the employee stays on track to achieving the goal.

If you feel like you have room to develop your facilitation skills in order to get things done in the organization, consider the following:

• Work on developing your meeting management skills. Encourage participation from others, solicit ideas, incorporate suggestions, record action items and hold yourself and others accountable to following through on commitments.
• Develop your coaching and leadership skills. Make sure you’re setting clear goals and giving frequent feedback to team members, not just at their performance review. Learn and use Situational Leadership® II so that you’re giving employees the right amount of direction and support they need to achieve their goals.
• Utilize problem-solving and decision-making techniques such as brainstorming, SWOT, or Force Field analysis.
• Perform an After Action Review of a recent problem-solving or decision-making situation. Ask these questions: What did we set out to do? What actually happened? Why did it happen? What can we do better next time?

Building trust is a process that takes time and effort, but can be accomplished through the use of specific behaviors. Continued focus on developing your facilitation skills to get work accomplished in the organization will help you create a track record of success and will earn you the trustworthy reputation of someone who can “Git-R-Done!”

This is one in a series of articles on the TrustWorks!® ABCD Trust Model and building trust in relationships and organizations. Be sure to “like” TrustWorks!® on Facebook or follow us on Twitter @TrustWrks.