Amazon understands that effective leadership takes earning the trust of their teams. That's why 'Earn Trust' is one of their leadership principles. "Leaders listen attentively, speak candidly, and treat others respectfully. They are vocally self-critical, even when doing so is awkward or embarrassing. Leaders do not believe their or their team's body odor smells of perfume. They benchmark themselves and their teams against the best."

"About a year ago, I was pushing my team pretty hard. There was a big company directive, and a lot of stress was tricking down the corporate ladder. This impacted my leadership style, which resulted in far too many check-ins, which devolved into micro-managing. I wasn't being very communicative at the time either, and a team member pulled me aside and shared that I was acting out of character, negatively impacting morale. They were also a bit stressed and frustrated, and the delivery of their feedback was less than objective. But I saw what was happening. I always pride myself on instantly taking ownership of my actions, and they were right. So I spent a little time meditating on that and changed directions. A week later, that employee pulled me aside and thanked me for being the only bright spot of their day."