Does your team trust you? Is there such a thing as a positive relationship without trust? We trust our friends and take their advice. People listen when leaders earn trust their through words and actions. Establishing trust between a leader and direct reports can build a long-term partnership. How important is building trust in a work culture? When trust is broken, the culture will fail.
Does your Team Trust You?
How to Build Trust with Your Team
Building trust isn’t complicated. It begins by telling the truth—even when it hurts. And that includes avoiding lies by omission. Trust is the foundation for friendship, and friends give friends the best advice possible. Trust = friendship = partnership.
Be honest
Transparency about the quality of work is critical. Not telling someone their work is lacking isn’t being nice and certainly isn’t fair. “More good employees are lost because no one tells them what needs to be changed. If you want to help your team, tell them what they need to hear.” — My Top Ten Leadership Mistakes
Be a Friend
Friends stay in touch, not just because they need something from you (real friends anyway). If you only engage with a teammate when you need something, what kind of a friend are you? “Can a boss be a friend? Have you been told not to be friends with your employees? If I asked if a boss should help his or her direct reports, would your answer be absolutely? However, isn’t that what true friendship is, helping and supporting one another?” — Can a Boss Be a Friend?
Offer to help
If you want to build a friendship and develop trust, offer to help for helps sake. That’s what friends do. “Take people under your wing. Help others get what they want by giving them what they need.” — 5 Simple Ways to Help Others Improve
Know your teammate
And not just who they are at work but who they are outside of work. Take a personal interest. Learn about their family, hobbies, and dreams.
Listen and be available
Being there when a direct report has a question or concern may do more to establish a relationship built on trust than anything else you can do.
It Starts with Trust
How important is trust? Building trust is the key to a long-term work partnership. Without trust, your team, the organization, and you, are at a dead-end. How do you establish a trusting relationship with your teammates?
How Can I Help You?
I like to help people and organizations, but I have three criteria I consider before taking an assignment – I believe in what the organization stands for, I know I can help, and it looks like fun. If you have any questions, Contact Me.
So, does your business have a management training plan? Because if not, many organizations, large and small, use my book, The New Manager’s Workbook, a crash course in effective management, as the basis for their leadership development program. Check it out.
Note: Several years ago, I wrote a post about how important building trust is for customer relations. It’s interesting how much that post and this one share in common. Be honest, do good things, be kind, and care.
Photo by Michał Parzuchowski on Unsplash
