“Watch their hips.”
If you’ve played team sports, you’re probably familiar with this defensive tip. The player you’re defending can fake with their feet, eyes, hands, and the ball…or puck, or disc – take your pick.
But their hips can’t fake. Their hips reveal their actions. You can trust their hips. The hips are the true signal to where the player is going.
What about in leadership? What are you signalling with your hips, the indicator that corresponds to your actions, to where you are actually going? This isn’t merely conveying a message to the defense. Your actions are the most important signal your team will trust. And they’ll trust you if your hips – your actions – are consistently signalling the same thing as the rest of you.
Do your hips match the other signals you are sending with your words, decisions, processes, values, vision, strategy, and tactics? Or might you be inadvertently faking out those you seek to serve?
To build trust with your team, remember it’s in your hips.
Trust: it’s in the hips.
