In the last few posts, I’ve talked about benefits of having happy, engaged employees, but what drives that kind of engagement beyond providing challenging, purposeful assignments? Trust is high on the list.  

 

Important! If you’re a cat, please stop reading.
You will never gain the trust of your employees. Nobody trusts a cat.

 

Stephen M.R. Covey (son of the the other Stephen Covey) makes the argument in his book The Speed of Trust that employees will stay at an organization longer and be more engaged when there is a high degree of trust.

Unfortunately, we’ve all seen firsthand how leadership can send signals of mistrust in many ways, without even knowing it. Closed-door meetings, overly scripted or choreographed speeches to employees at all-hands meetings, inconsistent messaging, and a penchant for lurking around, can send signals to employees that something is amiss.

Psychology Today offers three trust basics when it comes to leading or managing teams of employees: give trust first, communicate effectively, and be genuine. Simple enough, right?

Here are several other simple reminders for building trust—dos and don’ts of building trust:

Dos:

  • Do invite your employees to play Candy Crush Saga….Wait! Don’t do that...Never do that.
  • Make eye contact. Really look at the other person as they talk to you; not at your phone, at your note pad or out the window. And try to keep your gaze above the neckline.
  • Be fair. Don’t show favoritism or treat one employee better than another, especially publicly. That’s a trust breaker no trust fall exercise will fix.
  • Apologize. That’s right, apologize when you screw up, because you will (unless you’re super-human, but that’s another blog post.)
  • Be consistent. Show up on time, don’t cancel or move meetings very often, and be there for guidance when your employees or teammates need you.
  • Show trust to get trust. Comes across as someone who’s trustworthy and dependable, and you’ll better foster it in others.
  • Always keep change in your pocket. I don’t know why—it’s something my Grandpa always told me.

Don’ts:

  • Don’t lurk in the bushes of your employee’s homes after midnight.
  • Don’t waffle. Wafflers don’t gain trust. Know what you’re talking about, know where you’re going and show confidence in that. Also, don’t wear waffles as hats. That’s a terrible thing to do.
  • Don’t stomp around when you’re having a bad day. Just as you’d prefer your employees not act like children; you shouldn’t either. Especially don’t eat erasures.
  • Don’t ask for things outside the reasonable needs of the business, e.g., washing your car, or massaging your bunions.
  • If you ask for expertise, use it. Don’t discount it. (See “show trust to get trust above.”)
  • Don’t lie. Duh. We all learned that in kindergarten or earlier. It’ll bite you in the pants every time.

Keep your eyes and ears out for the signs of mistrust amongst your employee base, and coach your leadership team on being authentic, addressing issues head on and directly, and using the language and the body language of trust.

 

 

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