. 
It’s important to know whether or not your boss is trustworthy. In fact, it’s a critical factor in your success and the quality of your life at work. So, how can you tell if your boss is trustworthy? Here are five things to look for
Leaders who are trustworthy:
Tell the truth as they understand it: This is easy to observe – just look to see whether your boss ‘tells everyone the same story.’ Untrustworthy bosses tend to tell different versions of events, depending on who they’re talking to. For instance, in a meeting with you and other staff, your boss might blame a problem on his boss – but when he’s talking to the boss, he blames it on someone else. Or when the head of sales asks your boss how the new product push is going, your boss might tell her it’s great – but when talking to someone else, she might say it’s a mess. An even more critical indicator is what behavior your boss encourages from you or other team members: does he or she invite or require you to shade the truth or not share important information with others? Not trustworthy.
Do what they say will do. None of us are able to deliver on every promise. But trustworthy bosses have good batting averages: generally speaking, they do the things they commit to doing. In addition – and this is important – if they can’t do as they promised, they’ll tell the truth about that, and say what they’ll do instead. A boss who’s evasive or vague about commitments, and who then seems unable or unwilling to admit, apologize and recommit when things go awry can’t be relied upon, especially in tough times.
Keep confidences. There’s a great scene in Game of Thrones, where a characters tells 3 versions of a confidential piece of information to 3 different people, to find out which one was betraying him. Now, I’m not encouraging you to be quite this Machievellian, but you can do the mini-version to discover whether your boss is sharing confidences. Tell your boss something you don’t mind if people know (but that they don’t), and ask him or her to keep it in confidence. Don’t tell anyone else. If it then comes back to you from another source, it’s a pretty good bet your boss spilled the beans. And, sadly, if it happens once, it’s most likely a standard part of how this person operates.
Speak and act for the greater good. How do your boss’ words line up with how he or she actually behaves? For instance, if he talks a good game about the importance of following company policy – but then doesn’t do it himself; or if she says inspiring things about the teamwork in public, but then focuses only on her own preferences or advancement…
Are capable and get results. Can your boss do his or her job? Trustworthy bosses have the skills and experience needed to get the expected results, and if they don’t, they acquire them. Untrustworthy bosses fake it – or blame you.
Now that you’ve assessed your boss – what if he or she failed? First, protect yourself. Do everything you can to avoid putting yourself in a situation where your boss’ untrustworthiness can hurt your career or your relationships (e.g., don’t share sensitive information, don’t rely on his or her word without checking with someone else, etc..)
But if your boss is really untrustworthy, get another job if at all possible. Untrustworthy bosses are dangerous to their employees, their companies, even to themselves. Having a truly untrustworthy boss is like keeping a live hand grenade in your desk. Sooner or later, something very painful and messy is bound to happen.
By:
Source: http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikaandersen/2012/07/20/how-to-tell-if-your-boss-is-trustworthy/
It’s important to know whether or not your boss is trustworthy. In fact, it’s a critical factor in your success and the quality of your life at work. So, how can you tell if your boss is trustworthy? Here are five things to look forLeaders who are trustworthy:
Tell the truth as they understand it: This is easy to observe – just look to see whether your boss ‘tells everyone the same story.’ Untrustworthy bosses tend to tell different versions of events, depending on who they’re talking to. For instance, in a meeting with you and other staff, your boss might blame a problem on his boss – but when he’s talking to the boss, he blames it on someone else. Or when the head of sales asks your boss how the new product push is going, your boss might tell her it’s great – but when talking to someone else, she might say it’s a mess. An even more critical indicator is what behavior your boss encourages from you or other team members: does he or she invite or require you to shade the truth or not share important information with others? Not trustworthy.
Do what they say will do. None of us are able to deliver on every promise. But trustworthy bosses have good batting averages: generally speaking, they do the things they commit to doing. In addition – and this is important – if they can’t do as they promised, they’ll tell the truth about that, and say what they’ll do instead. A boss who’s evasive or vague about commitments, and who then seems unable or unwilling to admit, apologize and recommit when things go awry can’t be relied upon, especially in tough times.
Keep confidences. There’s a great scene in Game of Thrones, where a characters tells 3 versions of a confidential piece of information to 3 different people, to find out which one was betraying him. Now, I’m not encouraging you to be quite this Machievellian, but you can do the mini-version to discover whether your boss is sharing confidences. Tell your boss something you don’t mind if people know (but that they don’t), and ask him or her to keep it in confidence. Don’t tell anyone else. If it then comes back to you from another source, it’s a pretty good bet your boss spilled the beans. And, sadly, if it happens once, it’s most likely a standard part of how this person operates.
Speak and act for the greater good. How do your boss’ words line up with how he or she actually behaves? For instance, if he talks a good game about the importance of following company policy – but then doesn’t do it himself; or if she says inspiring things about the teamwork in public, but then focuses only on her own preferences or advancement…
Are capable and get results. Can your boss do his or her job? Trustworthy bosses have the skills and experience needed to get the expected results, and if they don’t, they acquire them. Untrustworthy bosses fake it – or blame you.
Now that you’ve assessed your boss – what if he or she failed? First, protect yourself. Do everything you can to avoid putting yourself in a situation where your boss’ untrustworthiness can hurt your career or your relationships (e.g., don’t share sensitive information, don’t rely on his or her word without checking with someone else, etc..)
But if your boss is really untrustworthy, get another job if at all possible. Untrustworthy bosses are dangerous to their employees, their companies, even to themselves. Having a truly untrustworthy boss is like keeping a live hand grenade in your desk. Sooner or later, something very painful and messy is bound to happen.
By:
Erika Andersen, I cover how people & organizations work, and how they can work better.
Source: http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikaandersen/2012/07/20/how-to-tell-if-your-boss-is-trustworthy/