Explain the role of trust in leadership.

Answers will vary. Trust, the willingness to be vulnerable to the actions of another, is an essential element in leadership. Trust implies that followers believe that their leader will act with the followers' welfare in mind. Trustworthiness is also one of the competencies in emotional intelligence. Among top management team members, trust facilitates strategy implementation. That means that if team members trust each other, they have a better chance of getting buy-in from employees on the direction of the company. And if employees trust their leaders, they will buy in more readily.
Effective leaders understand both whom to trust and how to trust. At one extreme, leaders often make the mistake of trusting only a close circle of advisors, listening only to them and gradually cutting themselves off from dissenting opinions. At the opposite extreme, lone-wolf leaders may trust nobody, leading to preventable mistakes. Wise leaders carefully evaluate both the competence and the position of those they trust, seeking out a variety of opinions and input. Please see the section "Emerging Issues in Leadership" for more information.