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“Thanks for the trust.”

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It’s been almost on repeat the past several years. I commend one of our young leaders on staff for a job well done and he or she respond with, “Thanks for the trust, Joe.”

I normally wouldn’t think much about it, until  the statement got stuck in my head like the Last Song Syndrome.

thanks for the trust, thanks for the trust, thanks for the trust, thanks for the trust

And it finally dawned on me, what they were really saying was,

“Thanks for getting out of the way.”

There’s really only one way to communicate trust to someone – you let them do it.

  • Without second-guessing their every move
  • Without hovering over their shoulder
  • Without undoing their work behind their back
  • Without disempowering them with your words

 

Now that doesn’t mean we should disappear completely. They still need us to guide, encourage, correct, and then get out of the way again.

 

 

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