Build Trust to Unleash Your Team’s Potential

By John Hall www linkedin.com

When you lose faith in an employee, chances are high that he won’t be around for long. But what happens when an employee loses faith in you? He can’t fire you, but that doesn’t make the consequences any less severe.Trust binds a company together. Without it, things fall apart; growth becomes either impossible or untenable. If your team doesn’t trust you, they’ll soon stop believing in the company itself.But when your employees do trust you, the team evolves into something greater than the sum of its parts. Trust in leadership creates a safety net. The team develops faith in your ability to run the company with their best interests in mind. When you’ve gained their trust, your employees will commit themselves to your vision because it will feel like their own.As a leader, you can’t passively wait for trust to materialize out of thin air. You need to be proactive in earning it. Here are a few tips for gaining the trust of your team:

1. Be honest and transparent.

You’ll be hard-pressed to find a leader who admits to lying to his employees. Repeatedly sugarcoating the truth, however, can be just as damaging to your credibility as telling a blatant lie.Your team has a right to know about your company’s organizational health. They also need to understand why you make certain strategic decisions. If you keep them in the dark, they aren’t able to take ownership in the direction the company is going.Being open, honest, and transparent will help your team members align themselves with your vision; they’ll also be able to set informed performance goals. If someone constantly underperforms against these goals and you’re forced to fire him, the team is more likely to understand because you’ll have been transparent. It won’t cost you the trust of other employees.

2. Establish yourself as a thought leader.

Chip Paucek, one of our clients, is someone I respect because of his ability to communicate to his team through writing. Though the best way to earn the trust of his team would be to spend time with each individual member, Chip just doesn’t have the bandwidth to meet with more than 600 employees. However, he still manages to communicate effectively with his team by writing articles for Inc.com.If this seems indirect, read Chip’s article “Life is Too Short to Work with Jerks.”In it, he describes his management philosophy, which is to “maintain an asshole-free workplace.”Now, imagine you’re one of Chip’s employees. Reading this article will instill you with a sense of pride. Not only will you know your boss is a straight-talking leader who protects your workspace, but working for him also proves to the world that you’re not a jerk.Trust is built on strong communication. Establishing yourself as a thought leader enables you to empower your team by sharing your ideas.

3. Recognize and reward with small acts of kindness.

A small gesture can go a long way. Your employees know how busy you are, so when you take time out to recognize them, you connect with them as individuals. A quick email, a thank-you note, or a kind word can help make an employee feel validated and special.The most important thing is that any gesture is imbued with meaning. You can’t buy trust, so don’t rain lavish gifts on your team and expect them to love you for it. Instead, put yourself in their shoes. What accomplishments make them beam with pride? What challenges are they working to overcome? Strive to be genuine and kind; your trustworthiness will soar.

4. Open yourself up to performance reviews and feedback.

Rand Fishkin, co-founder of Moz, shared his personal performance review with the world in a blog post. He is honest, critical, and self-aware. “I worry that I’m letting down some of the immediate layers of management and some great individual contributors,” Rand writes. Overall, he says that his performance simply “meets expectations.”What if Rand had graded himself as having “completely exceeded all expectations”? He’d be Michael Scott from “The Office,” that’s what. The power of this blog post is that Rand reveals himself to be a vulnerable person — someone who grapples with self-doubt in the same way his employees probably do. By avoiding the pedestal, Rand creates an environment that fosters introspection, feedback, and transparency.Schedule regular performance reviews and share the results. Don’t shy away from criticism; not only is it a source of self-improvement, but embracing it will also boost your credibility.

Trust Is a Two-Way Street

Charisma is not the same thing as credibility. And credibility, though vital, doesn’t guarantee the trust of your employees.Your team may like you. They may respect you. But they will only trust you when you trust them. You can’t micromanage your team and expect them to believe that you have faith in them. Only by giving them the space and support to live up to their professional potential can you make them feel trusted.Not long ago, we had an employee whose main responsibility was helping clients apply for industry awards. He was doing a good job and seemed fairly content; however, whenever someone mentioned the term “inbound marketing,” his ears perked up. His interest in inbound seemed to be growing every day, so I eventually asked him if he’d like to shift over to our inbound department. He was thrilled. By inviting him to follow his professional passion, I made him feel trusted and cared for. He’s rewarded me not only by giving me his trust, but also by dedicating himself to making our inbound marketing efforts the best they can be.

Nurture trust within your company. It has the power to change everything.

John Hall is the CEO of Influence & Co., a company that positions individuals and businesses as industry resources through educational content.