Trust is essential for a team to function effectively. Although it might be true that every workplace has individuals with their own goals and agendas, it doesn’t mean that a leader shouldn’t try to improve trust among workers. And as you know, leaders lead by example.
When we talk about trust in the workplace, we refer to employees’ sense that their leader – either a manager or the business owner – is on their side. This looks like a boss or manager who treats everyone with respect, patience, and empathy.
In a trusting working environment, leaders are able to:
- Engage and retain top talent
- Maintain a strong culture, especially when working remotely
- Create a meaningful employee experience
- Build your brand
- Scale a business
How to Build Trust in the Workplace
According to Your Thought Partner, there are eight essential ways that a leader can foster trust.
1. Trust is Earned
It’s not enough to just talk the talk – you need to walk the walk. Start by keeping your promises and making sure that your behaviour speaks to the values of your business. For employees, seeing is believing, so you need to live it that you are trustworthy.
2. Be Honest and Transparent
Telling the truth can be hard. But this is the first step to honesty and transparency. Although some information shouldn’t be shared with everyone, other information should. Honest and open conversations show employees that leaders are willing to have tough conversations for the sake of being trustworthy. This is also a great way to prevent rumours from starting that may cause concerns and tension.
3. Listen
It’s not enough just to have the hard conversations; it’s also important to listen when an employee brings a different perspective, or even a difficult situation, to your attention. Active listening entails being completely focused on the conversation and portraying relevant body language that shows you are invested in the moment.
4. Model Trustworthy Behaviour
Other trustworthy behaviours include being consistent and reliable. Exhibiting these behaviours, such as being consistent in work, setting meetings or dividing work, as well as being reliable, such as keeping your word and helping when you say you will, are small ways to model that you are trustworthy.
5. Adopt Accountability Practices
Accountability practised across the company means that every single person, including yourself and management, is held accountable for their actions. This proves to everyone that no one, regardless of their position, is beyond reproach. Treating everyone equally, especially when push comes to shove, does wonders for showing everyone that you are a leader worth trusting.
6. Show Empathy
Empathy shows that you are human and that you understand that sometimes, external pressures can affect work life. Empathy can take many forms and is a valuable tool in establishing trust. Where employees feel that they can be vulnerable without judgment, being honest and open allows them to acknowledge that they can put their trust in their leader.
7. Solicit Feedback
Feedback can take the form of regular company surveys or open platforms for discussing opportunities for improvement. By asking employees for their feedback, leaders engage workers and show them that they value their input.
8. Employee Recognition
Employee recognition is so much more than just recognising the hard work that employees put in to deliver quality results. Its role of recognising hard work is to help encourage collaboration, which opens the door to open communication.
Trust is essential if you want to encourage teamwork. By following the guidelines set out above, you should be able to establish trust amongst your team. If it at first doesn’t seem to work, don’t be discouraged. Keep your head up and persevere – Rome wasn’t built in a day, but soon you will be able to reap the rewards.
Trust is essential for a team to function effectively. Although it might be true that every workplace has individuals with their own goals and agendas, it doesn’t mean that a Read More
