TY - JOUR T1 - Trusted to Lead: Trustworthiness and its Impact on Leadership JF - Open Source Business Resource Y1 - 2011 A1 - Taina Savolainen A1 - Sari Häkkinen AB - This article discusses trust in leadership, a major issue in current business management. Paradoxically, in the environment of continuous change that characterizes many organizations today, trust is needed more but is enacted less. Trust forms a foundation for functioning relationships and co-operation. Trust is intangible - it is an intellectual asset, a skill, and an influencing power for leaders. Leadership by trust emphasizes trustful behaviour towards employees. In this article, we suggest that, in trust formation, it is trustworthiness in leader behaviour that matters. Showing trustworthiness by competence, integrity, benevolence, and credibility makes a difference in daily leadership work. The importance of trust in leadership has been widely recognized in the literature and business practice. This article focuses on how leaders enact on trust by showing trustworthiness to subordinates. The ways of building and sustaining trust and the effects of trustworthy and untrustworthy leader behaviour are examined. Two real life cases from industrial companies are presented and their implications are discussed. In conclusion, a leader's competence (ability) is one of the key dimensions in showing trustworthiness. As to untrustworthy behaviour, it is worth noting that building and sustaining trust is reciprocal in nature. A practical implication for leaders is that the development of an awareness of trustworthiness and skills for demonstrating it should be a top priority in the current business environment, which demands strong interaction, cooperation, and communication abilities. PB - Talent First Network CY - Ottawa UR - http://timreview.ca/article/429 IS - March 2011 U1 - University of Eastern Finland Taina Savolainen is Professor of Management and Leadership in the Department of Business at the University of Eastern Finland. Prof. Savolainen specializes in trust within organizations, leadership, organizational change, and global competitiveness management. Prior to taking up her academic appointments, Prof. Savolainen worked as a corporate advisor and deputy director in the Ministry of Trade and Industry. She has been extensively involved in management training and consulting for both private and public sector organizations, and has acted as Chief Examiner of the Finnish Quality Award. She is also CEO of the family business, TQM Finland Ltd. U2 - University of Eastern Finland Sari Häkkinen is PhD. student of management and leadership at the University of Eastern Finland in the Department of Business. She received her MSc. (Econ.) from Lappeenranta University of Technology in the Department of Management and Organizations. Her current research focus is interpersonal trust and trustworthy behaviour between leaders and their subordinates, and how leadership styles affect trust building and violating trust. Sari Häkkinen has practical experience in the technology industry in the areas of human resources management and business development. ER -