From Leader to Loser in 45 Days: How Loss of Trust Can Destroy a Leader

My wife and I were recently driving through a local town when we heard a jolting noise. Something had dropped from the trees that hung over the road and cracked my windshield. (While I do not have evidence, I think it may have been a squirrel aiming to get even with me for all the times my dogs have chased them out of our yard.) Windshields are strong, but given the right impact at the right time, cracks will destroy them.

The same is true for leaders. Take for example Liz Truss, the British Prime Minister who lasted only 45 days before a loss of trust destroyed her career. Trust has always been a fragile thing, but it is even more so in this unsettled time in which we live and lead. Ms. Truss is not the first leader to be crushed by a loss of trust. Here is how it can happen to anyone.

1. A complex and convoluted culture.

Leaders today are stepping into organizational cultures that are nothing short of challenging. Political discord. Absence of tolerance. Generational divides. Economic complexity. And of course, the ever-present remnant of a pandemic. Leadership now requires a resume that includes the wisdom of Jesus, nerves like a Navy Seal, and the emotional strength of an NFL quarterback. I know little about Liz Truss and British politics, but I know enough to understand that she stepped into a leadership woodchipper, and that often leads to the destruction of trust.

2. Overconfidence in your abilities and knowledge.

The more successful you have been, the more likely you are to fall into the trap of overconfidence. In their excellent book Why Smart People Do Dumb Things, Dr. Mortimer Feinberg and John Tarrant note that pride and arrogance are two of the most common causes of smart people making bad choices. And what is one of the common symptoms of pride? Overconfidence in your abilities and knowledge. Ms. Truss was not a rookie. She has experience in politics and was a graduate of Oxford. But perhaps she had more confidence than was warranted for the circumstances.

3. Failure to listen carefully.

I have never met a dog that does not like treats, I have never met a skier who does not like snow, and I have never met a leader who does not think that they listen! I mean, if you asked me if I listen, I would say yes. But if we as leaders listen so well, why do so many employees feel that we don’t? Because leaders listen selectively (they pick who they will and will not listen to) and do not listen carefully (listening is very hard work). Proverbs 1 says that a wise person will hear and increase in learning. I would guess that if the political machine of Britain was interviewed, many would now say that Ms. Truss did not listen – at all or at least not carefully – and the result was a collapse of trust.

4. Trusting others a bit too much.

If leaders do not trust others, it will hinder their mission, frustrate their team, and increase their potential for burnout. We commonly hear complaints from those we coach surrounding the idea that “My boss doesn’t trust me to do my job!” However, when a leader does show trust by allowing you to do your job and taking your advice, they are also running the risk of losing the trust of others if things go wrong. It appears that this happened in Britain. The Prime Minister listened to her top economic advisor (or collaboratively came up with the fiscal policies they were about to implement) when everything turned upside down quickly. So be careful who you attach yourself to regarding trust, or else you may both get run through the leadership chipper.

5. Making too many changes too fast.

The British Prime Minister is not the first leader I have seen that failed in a very short period of time. I know of one leader who only lasted for about two weeks! One of the common denominators of leaders who experience a rapid loss of trust is making too many changes too fast. At times this may grow out of being over-confident. It can also result from a leader wanting to prove themselves to those around them. Either way, too many changes too fast can crush a leader like a hammer striking a nail.

6. Abandonment from your key power brokers.

No leader can last very long without a coalition – a group of influential people who commonly fund them, empower them, and protect them. It is often the power brokers that put a leader into his or her position. This is also the same group that removes the leader when he fails to live up to expectations or when the tide turns fast enough that the group no longer wants to risk its credibility by being associated with the leader who is sinking. When a leader moves too far forward with too many aggressive changes in too short an amount of time, he should not be surprised when he gets kicked to the curb.

7. When the altitude rapidly drops, you may not be able to recover.

In 2014, an AirAsia jet ended up in the Java Sea after descending at a rate of 31,000 feet per minute before crashing. Similarly, when trust in a leader rapidly declines, the likelihood of recovery is very low. This is even true when it is not a result of their own leadership. This happened to Prime Minister Truss. In a matter of only a few weeks, she had a dismal disapproval rating of 70%, one of the lowest ever. If a leader does not monitor their trust “altitude,” they may end up crashing and will later be stunned that it happened, having failed to read the gauges.

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Jay Desko is the CEO of The Center Consulting Group and brings experience in the areas of organizational assessment, leadership coaching, decision-making, and strategic questioning. Jay’s degrees include an M.Ed. in Instructional Systems Design from Pennsylvania State University and a Ph.D. in Organizational Behavior and Leadership from The Union Institute.