Leadership
July 21, 2023
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4 Tips for Building Trust in the Workplace

According to a survey by Tolero Solutions, a whopping 43% of employees said a lack of trust in leadership is affecting their performance at work. 

Many workplaces suffer from a lack of trust simply because employees don’t feel comfortable sharing with their managers and peers. But they also might feel like they’re being constantly monitored for performance, or not included when it comes to decision making that affects their work. This sort of dysfunction in an organization ultimately leads to poor performance among employees and leaves leaders wondering where they went wrong.

In an article for Forbes, best-selling author Shelley Smith had this to say about trust in the workplace: “The team must trust the leader, the leader must trust the team and team members must trust each other.” So how do you achieve a level of trust that leads to everyone feeling heard, respected, and understood? We put together a list of four tips to help you get started.

#1 Listen More Than You Speak

Whether you’re a leader or not, listening is the most important trait to get right when it comes to building trust among your team members. Why would anyone bother sharing their thoughts or concerns with you if they don’t feel like they’re being heard?

Apart from fostering a culture of distrust, not making space for other people to speak up can also stymie creativity and prevent team members from achieving their best work. For creativity and ideation to thrive, everyone needs to feel they can confidently share their ideas without fear of reproach.

#2 Be Honest and Be Vulnerable

We don’t need to spend time in this section touting the benefits of not lying to your colleagues or staff members (we all know lying is bad), but how often are you intentionally forthcoming about the truth? Are you truthful about business operations, your team’s performance, and telling the truth about yourself?

Transparency is one of the foundational principles of trust-building, and it gets a lot of attention from writers like Simon Sinek and Brené Brown for good reason. Simply opening up to your co-workers, direct-reports, or employees can go a long way toward building rapport with your team. 

By being vulnerable and honest yourself, you are also giving your team members licence to do the same. That doesn’t mean you need to pour your heart out to everyone you work with on a daily basis, but it does mean you don’t have to have it all together either. Share your own challenges and concerns with your colleagues when it makes sense, offer them constructive feedback when you feel it can help them improve, and ask for constructive feedback in return. Honesty really is the best policy when it comes to building trust

#3 Be Inclusive

According to the Harvard Business Review, only about 40% of employees are privy to their company’s strategy and objectives, and yet this Gallup study found that engagement among workers increases when managers communicate daily objectives to their employees. So why are people saving strategy for the boardroom instead of sharing it with everyone? The answer comes down to a lack of trust.

When business leaders trust their employees with company knowledge and give them opportunities to help guide business strategy, everyone is better off. Take a look at Lincoln Electric, for example, which has been operating for 125 years on the premise that employees should be rewarded for contributions to company strategy, (especially as it relates to increasing efficiencies), and where the majority of company stock is in the hands of its employees—the company boasts an extremely low turnover rate and high employee engagement as a result.

Lincoln employees trust that their employer has their best interests at heart (the company has a no-layoffs policy that keeps workers employed even during economic downturns) and Lincoln executives trust their employees to work hard for the benefit of the company—indeed, harder during tough times—but everyone at the company benefits from this transparent arrangement and is happy to do whatever’s necessary to ensure the organization’s success.

#4 Be Consistent

Last but not least, don’t flip-flop on trust—make it part of your workplace culture by staying consistent. To help illustrate this point, think of someone that you trust. Is that person known to be trustworthy some of the time? If you trust them, probably not!

You likely know you can trust them because they are consistently trustworthy. Trust is built and earned over a long period of time, and it needs to stay consistent if it’s going to bear any fruit.

Conclusion

Trust is what allows the best teams in the world to achieve amazing things, but it doesn’t always come easy. You can’t offer your trust one day and refuse it the next; the same way you can’t expect someone to trust you if you don’t trust them in return. 

Trust is developed over time through honesty, inclusivity, and consistency. Practice these principles within yourself and see how implementing them affects those around you; you might be surprised at how quickly you begin breaking down barriers and start building trust in your workplace.

The Power of Habits
Charles Duhigg
With penetrating intelligence and an ability to distill vast amounts of information into engrossing narratives, Duhigg brings to life a whole new understanding of human nature and its potential for transformation.
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4 Tips for Building Trust in the Workplace

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According to a survey by Tolero Solutions, a whopping 43% of employees said a lack of trust in leadership is affecting their performance at work. 

Many workplaces suffer from a lack of trust simply because employees don’t feel comfortable sharing with their managers and peers. But they also might feel like they’re being constantly monitored for performance, or not included when it comes to decision making that affects their work. This sort of dysfunction in an organization ultimately leads to poor performance among employees and leaves leaders wondering where they went wrong.

In an article for Forbes, best-selling author Shelley Smith had this to say about trust in the workplace: “The team must trust the leader, the leader must trust the team and team members must trust each other.” So how do you achieve a level of trust that leads to everyone feeling heard, respected, and understood? We put together a list of four tips to help you get started.

#1 Listen More Than You Speak

Whether you’re a leader or not, listening is the most important trait to get right when it comes to building trust among your team members. Why would anyone bother sharing their thoughts or concerns with you if they don’t feel like they’re being heard?

Apart from fostering a culture of distrust, not making space for other people to speak up can also stymie creativity and prevent team members from achieving their best work. For creativity and ideation to thrive, everyone needs to feel they can confidently share their ideas without fear of reproach.

#2 Be Honest and Be Vulnerable

We don’t need to spend time in this section touting the benefits of not lying to your colleagues or staff members (we all know lying is bad), but how often are you intentionally forthcoming about the truth? Are you truthful about business operations, your team’s performance, and telling the truth about yourself?

Transparency is one of the foundational principles of trust-building, and it gets a lot of attention from writers like Simon Sinek and Brené Brown for good reason. Simply opening up to your co-workers, direct-reports, or employees can go a long way toward building rapport with your team. 

By being vulnerable and honest yourself, you are also giving your team members licence to do the same. That doesn’t mean you need to pour your heart out to everyone you work with on a daily basis, but it does mean you don’t have to have it all together either. Share your own challenges and concerns with your colleagues when it makes sense, offer them constructive feedback when you feel it can help them improve, and ask for constructive feedback in return. Honesty really is the best policy when it comes to building trust

#3 Be Inclusive

According to the Harvard Business Review, only about 40% of employees are privy to their company’s strategy and objectives, and yet this Gallup study found that engagement among workers increases when managers communicate daily objectives to their employees. So why are people saving strategy for the boardroom instead of sharing it with everyone? The answer comes down to a lack of trust.

When business leaders trust their employees with company knowledge and give them opportunities to help guide business strategy, everyone is better off. Take a look at Lincoln Electric, for example, which has been operating for 125 years on the premise that employees should be rewarded for contributions to company strategy, (especially as it relates to increasing efficiencies), and where the majority of company stock is in the hands of its employees—the company boasts an extremely low turnover rate and high employee engagement as a result.

Lincoln employees trust that their employer has their best interests at heart (the company has a no-layoffs policy that keeps workers employed even during economic downturns) and Lincoln executives trust their employees to work hard for the benefit of the company—indeed, harder during tough times—but everyone at the company benefits from this transparent arrangement and is happy to do whatever’s necessary to ensure the organization’s success.

#4 Be Consistent

Last but not least, don’t flip-flop on trust—make it part of your workplace culture by staying consistent. To help illustrate this point, think of someone that you trust. Is that person known to be trustworthy some of the time? If you trust them, probably not!

You likely know you can trust them because they are consistently trustworthy. Trust is built and earned over a long period of time, and it needs to stay consistent if it’s going to bear any fruit.

Conclusion

Trust is what allows the best teams in the world to achieve amazing things, but it doesn’t always come easy. You can’t offer your trust one day and refuse it the next; the same way you can’t expect someone to trust you if you don’t trust them in return. 

Trust is developed over time through honesty, inclusivity, and consistency. Practice these principles within yourself and see how implementing them affects those around you; you might be surprised at how quickly you begin breaking down barriers and start building trust in your workplace.