I'm going to continue my series on Trust in the workplace, and building cultures based on trust. In this article I will be exploring how managers can build and maintain trust within their teams. This is highlighting the crucial role that managers, team leaders and business leaders have in building and maintaining trust.
There is mountains of information on leadership behaviours and what good looks like. I don't want this to read like another article on leadership behaviour, but providing managers and leaders with some top tips on how to build trust. Some of these suggestions may feel uncomfortable for you, especially if you are a control freak (lets admit it who isn't to some extent!)
Be consistent- there is nothing worse than team members second guessing, what mood you're going to be in, or what decision you are going to make today. We've all experienced a manager who we walked on egg shells around. This doesn't feel very good does it? This can undermine team members and make them second guess themselves causing instability within the team. It can also turn team members against each other if it feels like you change your mind depending on who you're dealing with.
Trust is two-way, so one of the best things you can do is to trust them, this will lead to empowering them to do the job that you need them to do. And boy will they do that job well. The more you trust the more you empower them. The more empowered they feel the better the job they will do. The positive experience of being empowered helps individuals feel like they are being trusted and treated as an adult.
Say yes more often! This might seem like a strange tip, but the positivity behind saying yes shows team members that you are listening, understanding and supporting them. If no is your default, stop, try something different. Before you say no, ask more questions and listen to the answers. You do not have all the answers, you really don't. So listening to team member suggestions and exploring them with an open mind and even a "Yes" attitude will breed innovation.
Honor your commitments, especially those made during one to ones. I have to actively and consciously do this. Work can move so quickly that commitments can very quickly be forgotten. Not honouring your commitments can be demoralising for team members who are looking to you for support and , more importantly that you care beyond a one to one setting. They may be relying on you to do what you say you will. No one wants to be known as flaky and unreliable.
Here comes the pink and fully (but oh so powerful builder of trust). You need to care. If you team think you care about yourself more than them they will never follow you;. Remember great teams are a partnership or collaboration, "there's no I in teams". NEVER end a conversation or call with a team member for someone more important. Unless it’s a life or death situation this is the one thing a manager can do to obliterate any level of trust you may have with the individual on the receiving end. Think about a time when this may have happened to you. How did it feel?
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