5 Easy Ways to Build Trust as a Leader
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Trust is vital to being an effective leader.
This topic came to us from one of our Culture Drop subscribers — thanks for the question!
Whether you’re a brand new leader, or you’ve been a leader for 20+ years, building trust with employees is key to your success as a leader.
These are my top hits as far as how to establish trust and rapport quickly & effectively as a leader. Here we go:
“Listen, receive all feedback well, and make improvements based on what you hear.”
1. Ask for feedback
You have to show your team that you care about their experience. Go to them on a consistent basis and ask…
How am I doing as a leader?
What do I do well? What can I improve in?
What would a 10/10 look like from me as your leader?
Asking for people’s feedback (and handling it well) shows that you care about employee experience, and that you are in service of your relationships with employees.
Listen, receive all feedback well, and make improvements based on what you hear.
2. Prove that you care
Prove that you care about your people as individuals by knowing about them and what makes them tick. What matters to them, what motivates them, where do they want to go in their career?
Ask folks about where they want to grow in their career; in three years, or five. Even if they don’t have an answer it matters that you ask and care. Find out who they truly are as humans and how you can support them in their career. Prove to people that you are invested in them and care.
3. Be vulnerable
“Be a partner to your team, not their ‘boss.”
Show up authentically and imperfectly. You don’t know everything in the world. You are not more important than everyone else because you are a leader. Leadership is not authority over other people — it’s about supporting your team.
Leadership is not making sure people are working; it’s being there to support your team and help them thrive in every way that you can. You have to have that mindset about leadership.
Be transparent. be vulnerable, be authentic, and always seek to grow & learn. Be a partner to your team, not their ‘boss.”
4. Be consistent and have integrity
Be the same person in every single room you are in. Don’t act differently when you are in front of different people. Uphold what you think is exemplary behavior in the organization. Don’t engage in gossiping, badmouthing, etc. Be exceptional.
A lot of leaders will badmouth higher-up leadership teams or say unprofessional things in front of their people because they think it will gain their trust and build bonds. This actually has the opposite effect - it erodes trust and reveals leaders as being two-faced and of low integrity.
“Be the same person in every single room you are in.”
It falls on leaders to set the example of what is acceptable when it comes to behavior. Have integrity, and be consistent.
5. Do what you say you’re going to do
Be impeccable with your word by following through with your commitments. If you say you are going to do something, do it. Prove to others that you are reliable, trustworthy, and you will follow-through.
Final thoughts
Be authentic, be genuine, and be kind. The best thing leaders can do to improve trust on teams is just to be a good person, and care about the individuals on your team.
If every leader did all of the above, workplaces would be so much healthier, culture would be better, people would stay longer at their jobs, and leaders would improve in their roles. Yes please.
Thanks for the question!
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This article was created by Galen Emanuele for the #culturedrop. Free leadership and team culture content in less than 5 minutes a week. Check out the rest of this month's content and subscribe to the Culture Drop at https://bit.ly/culturedrop
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