Trust is one of the most important aspects of a healthy, productive workplace. With trust in place, employees are more likely to collaborate, achieve high performance, be willing to share new ideas, and more. Trust can also help you achieve higher success in difficult situations—learn more and enhance your skills in the new Engaging in Difficult Conversations workshop. For now, these tips can help you build trust:
Make space for different opinions
Create a psychologically safe space where your team feels comfortable voicing their own opinions. Encourage others to share their thoughts and hear them out even if you don’t agree. If your team knows that you’re open to hearing new ideas and opinions different than your own, they’ll be more willing to speak up and find unique solutions. And when employees feel strongly that they can offer honest feedback about changes in their organization, they’re over 7 times as likely to be confident in their leaders to manage challenges that may arise.
Give your team responsibility
Trust goes both ways. Demonstrate the trust you have in your team by including them on important projects or delegating essential tasks. Offer support where you can, but make it clear that you trust your team members to use their best judgment. If your employees see that you trust them, they’re more likely to have confidence in their abilities and return that trust.
Be specific with feedback
Sharing honest feedback is a good way to build trust with your team, but being specific with that feedback can take it a step further. If an employee gave a great presentation, tell them which elements stood out. Did they include compelling data analyses? Anticipate key questions about the project? Break down concepts in a way that was easy to understand? Or, if they didn’t quite hit the mark, what specific things could they have done to make it better and improve in the future? Detailed feedback shows that you are attentive and care about your employees’ success.
Prioritize consistency
When your team knows what to expect from you, trust is easier to build. Follow the processes you have in place for project management, requesting time off, submitting work for approvals, etc. and expect your team to follow them too. Prioritizing consistency in how you manage each employee is helpful as well. Plan consistent one-on-ones and hold your team to similar standards to promote a culture of fairness.
Share credit
When you’re recognized for a successful project or program, make sure the kudos reach everyone on your team that played a part in making it a success. Take special note of individuals that do most of their work behind the scenes and give them the praise they deserve. When your team knows that their efforts won’t be glazed over, they’ll be more enthusiastic about contributing to future projects.
Communicate with transparency
Keeping your team in the loop is crucial, but adding extra transparency can help to build more trust. If you have to make a tough decision, share more about how you reached that decision and how you’ll work to support your employees. They’ll have more confidence in you and the whole team if they feel like everyone is included in essential updates.
Building trust is key for successful teams. If you’d like to take these tips a step further with situations where trust can be tested, sign up for the new Engaging in Difficult Conversations workshop.