Faith and Trust

A high-wire acrobat crossed Niagara Falls on a cable strung from New York to Canada. He was equipped with only a very long and heavy balancing pole and his courage.

During the crossing he occasionally sat on the wire, stood on one foot and actually lay down to take a nap. He even jumped in the air.

As he drew closer to the Canada side of the Falls, the huge crowd of spectators began to cheer loudly. When he finally stood on the platform, which supported the cable, the crowd yelled even louder, saying that he was the greatest. He put down his pole and raised his hands to quiet the audience. When he had their attention he asked…

“Do you think I can make it back across to the U.S.?”

They all screamed “Yes, we have FAITH in YOU!”

He then asked, “Do you think I can make it back without my pole?”

The crowd, quiet for a brief moment, yelled in unison, “Yes! We have faith in you. You are wonderful!”

Then he asked them, “Do you think I can make it back across the Falls pushing a wheelbarrow?”

The crowd paused for a moment, then yelled back, “YES WE DO “

The artist looked down at the crowd and spotted a man who was cheering the loudest and asked him, “Sir, do you think I can make it back across pushing a wheelbarrow?”

The man looked up without hesitation and answered, “Yes, I have FAITH IN YOU!”

“Okay,” said the artist. “Get in the wheelbarrow.”

There is a wide gap between faith and trust. Just as it would have been foolish for the man to get in the wheelbarrow, it is very often foolish for leaders to blindly trust everyone in their organization, no matter how well they perform. This does not mean that you don’t have faith in their ability, and in their desire to do the job. But before trust is earned, people must be willing to accept responsibility for the performance of their roles, receive constant training, meet all of the expectations of their teams and supervisors and be held accountable for their performance.

So, as a leader, have faith in those you lead, but hold them accountable. Only then can you get in the wheelbarrow.

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Geoff Grenert (Leadership Solutions LLC), the son of a two-sport professional athlete and Hall of Fame basketball coach, brought the lessons of teamwork and coaching into both his own athletic career and his business life. An entrepreneur, Geoff founded two package delivery companies and an investment partnership, and heco-founded a leadership and team development consulting firm and a not-for-profit community service group. Geoff’s executive coaching, leadership and team development work includes individual coaching through programs at Duke University Fuqua School of Business and the Center for Creative Leadership. The team development exercises and assessment instruments he co-designed are used throughout the U.S. and Europe. Geoff’s coaching profile can be found at TheCoachingAssociation.com.