A manager or leader normally follows a Know Like Trust path to building a high performing relationship with the their team and it appears Rachel Dolezal was no different.
According to a bio on the web site of the Spokane N.A.A.C.P., which may soon be removed, Dolezal was active and effective in her field for 18 years before she became the local President of the Spokane Chapter of the N.A.A.C.P. and soon after was chosen by the Spokane Mayor to serve as a police commissioner for the Office of the Police Ombudsman.
The time she had taken to build this relationship with her team and organization unravelled once it became clear that many facets of her background were invented to suit the narrative of the story she wanted to tell. The results were swift and predictable.
In a story published in the NY Times this week, a long time member of the the Spokane N.A.A.C.P. was quoted as saying,
“The issue for me has been the deception, the lie, portraying herself as someone she isn’t.”
Which is polite talk for “I don’t trust her.”
Which illuminates the reality that while Know and Like come first in the relationship progression – Trust is the glue that holds it all together in the long term.
The Accidental Manager 