How to Build Trust in the Workplace
5 effective ways to start the process.
Photo by Riccardo
Working in a team you don't trust is a pretty lonely business.
Trust is not automatic. You may have a friendly culture on the surface, but you are missing a solid foundation.
Without trust, employees are dissatisfied, and creative ideas are ignored. Everyone does their thing to survive, but true teamwork and support are missing.
You can’t work without trust. Start building a psychologically safe environment. Consider these five ideas as a starting point.
1. Make trust your core value
Trust is no short-term project. Cement it in your culture.
You recognize the lack of trust easily:
Team members do not open up to one another.
They fear being honest. They don’t want to look sensitive or hurt other people. But the point of building a trustworthy environment is that people are:
“…unafraid to air their dirty laundry. They admit their mistakes, their weaknesses, their concerns without fear or reprisal.” — Patrick Leoncini
The first step is to realize if this is a problem and find out why.
Run a workshop to find out how people feel and what they think should be changed. Identify pain points and potentially toxic behaviors.
Begin a process of understanding and continuously working towards creating a psychologically safe environment. To make trust your core value you will need to start listening and accepting differences.
2. Care about others
Trust does not work in one direction.
If you want to be trusted, be trustworthy. — Stephen R. Covey
Showing care helps you get to know other people. Be interested in what they do, how they think, and what they think.
Many leaders tend to put off fires when they are already burning everything around them. That is too late. Be on top of your game and know what is happening. Establish a system to keep track.
Messy managers are not trustworthy.
Meet each team member and find out what they are working on. Help them plan. Capacity management makes a big difference in building trust.
I had a manager who never left me alone when I had to work overtime. He was there to help me. I trusted him to cover my back. Are you around enough? Do you regularly check with your colleagues about what is on?
The team shares commitments and covers back.
3. Transparent (honest) policy
Honesty can be pretty annoying. Yet, it is better than withdrawing information or lying. Don’t make things prettier, numbers more successful, and results more hopeful.
Say things as they are.
If you are transparent, people trust you. Being open does not mean you are rude and intentionally hurt people.
Work on your empathy. If you understand how people might feel, you become so much better at handling even the most difficult communication.
If trust is established, people are not afraid of asking uncomfortable questions and challenging ideas and performance. Your team will grow together and learn from their mistakes.
Teams that trust one another argue and have heated conversations, but they are productive and reach agreements. Such honesty is better than passive disagreement, and gossiping behind each other’s backs.
Where are you now? Can you openly disagree? I hope so.
4. Treat everyone fair and equal
Job titles tend to make some people feel more significant than they really are. Do not care about job titles. Treat everyone fair and equally.
Approximately 35% of people do not feel respected at work. That is a huge number. You make people feel a certain way by the way you speak to them. I used to hear comments like these in the company cafeteria:
•“You mean the gay from the accounting?”
• “She’s PMSing again.”
• “My client is an idiot. He should learn how to behave.”
•“I bet she’ll leave soon on maternity leave. She does not need the promotion.”
• “This manager is most likely an alcoholic. He smells again.”
• “He’s too introverted to be a good manager.”
Make sure to have proper training about inclusion and diversity. Without a culture of equality, you hardly achieve to have trust in the workplace.
Don’t consider gender, background, age, status, disabilities, etc. Everyone should have equal opportunities for development and the freedom to express themselves.
The same is true for promotions and salaries. Be fair, and the staff will be loyal.
5. Listen and make it happen
We all know them - empty corporate promises that lead nowhere. They can destroy trust easily.
People want to believe there is a bright future.
Listen to your colleagues’ and employees’ ideas and suggestions. Consider them. Choose what suits your plans and support them.
Commit to making things happen.
Do not disconnect words from your actions. Even if you fail to deliver what you promised, you can always apologize and acknowledge your mistake. In a trusted environment, it will be respected and accepted. What's more, you will be supported the next time.
Trust is about consistency and credibility. Are you credible? Does your word matter? Do people trust you?
A classic failure is when you promise to promote someone and when the time comes, the promotion won’t happen. That breaks trust if you do not have a reliable reason.
Trust is a commitment to make things happen.
Trust is the foundation of any relationship
It is not different at work. Trust makes people feel included and not alone. Without trust, teamwork can’t happen.
Don’t build your team on shallow ground. Take care of your colleagues, and they take care of your business.
Start by:
Learning about what is not working in your team. Employee surveys or workshops can make a deal.
Supporting leaders with proper training.
Making trust your core value and part of your culture.
See you next week! Ivona