The power of trust should never be underestimated. In fact, many in the organization development field call trust the new imperative. Trust is necessary for collaborative, high functioning teams and organizations.
A study several years ago from the Ken Blanchard Companies demonstrated the connection between trustworthy leadership behavior and productive employees. There were several key findings that benefit both employees and the organization:
- More discretionary effort and desire to be a “good organizational citizen”
- Improved Performance
- Greater Loyalty
- Higher Retention
So, how do you build trust? Trust is built overtime through trustworthy leadership behavior. Here are 12 helpful tips to get started:
- Earn It: Make a conscious effort to work hard to build trust
- Overcome White Lies: No matter how difficult – Be honest and supportive
- Be Open and Transparent— particularly regarding changes, issues, and developments. Share ANDexplain why
- Actively Listen
- Ask What Matters: Seek to learn what is important to employees
- Stay The Course: Be consistent because it takes time to build trust
- Model The Desired Behavior: Align words with actions – What you do is the influence, not what you say
- Give Credit: Acknowledge those who do great work
- Foster Accountability– Throughout the organization, including the executive team
- Admit Mistakes and Accept Responsibility
- Don’t THINK You Have All Of The Answers– Guess what? – you don’t!
- Don’t Play Favorites Or Badmouth Others