3 Ways Leaders Build Trust
Trust and integrity are inseparable. Both are fundamental to authentic, healthy relationships. And relationships are the bedrock of leadership. Here are three Powerful and Easy ways a leader (formal or informal) can build trust at work.
1) Coach…Don’t Coddle or Control. You don’t have to have been around long to notice that when an employee’s performance needs improvement, coddling or making excuses doesn’t help the employee. Nor does trying to control through lecturing. Both methods leave the employee feeling inadequate. Whether coddling or
controlling, both imply that the employee is incapable of figuring things out, and that, as you know, plays havoc with one’s confidence on the job.
On the other hand, controlling, both imply that the employee is incapable of figuring things out, and that, as you know, plays havoc with one’s confidence on the job.
On the other hand,coaching implies that the employee has the answer to his or her own performance issue; the employee just needs the questions that help discover what’s already inside of them. A good coach listens with understanding and discernment. A coach knows how to take someone through a line of questioning that allows the employee to discover for him or herself the path to improved performance.
Dallas Cowboy’s coach Tom Landry said it best: Really, coaching is simplicity. It’s getting players to play better than they think that they can.
And that builds confidence themselves – and trust in their coach.
2) Contribute to the lives of others. Invest energy in helping make life better for people. For example, have you ever:
• received an unexpected thank you note for a bit of good advice you gave or for a helping hand you extended?
• received a card of condolence OR a surprise birthday or anniversary card from someone you least expected to send one?
• been given a congratulatory note for a well-deserved promotion or raise or some type of recognition?
I’ll never forget the time I served on a board and headed up a major fund-raising campaign. Afterwards, I received a note from another board member who wrote: “It has not gone unnoticed how hard you worked to make our fundraiser a roaring success. I so appreciate your contribution of time and energy to help raise money for deserving kids in our community. “We work hard and yet many times our efforts seem to go unnoticed. Though we may not be working for compliments, but results, a note of appreciation is still the icing on the cake. When people do take notice, don’t you tend to move them to the top of your list of people who care? Though nothing new, Poet Maya Angelou eloquently stated:“At the end of the day people won’t remember what you said or did, they will remember how you made them feel.” And when you make people feel genuinely good about themselves, they tend to trust you more.
As the Book of Proverbs states: Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in the power of your hand to do so.
3. Don’t suck up; offer up specific, helpful feedback. Be the kind of person others go to for honest feedback because they know you’ll give it – not simply feedback about what they’ve done, but also about how they’ve done it. Help others see the connection between their intentions and their impact.
Avoid being the person who merely flatters. Most people know that flattery is 50% soft soap and 50% lie and that kind of feedback won’t serve them in the long haul. Instead give feedback others can learn from, whether positive or constructive. You will get known as someone who genuinely wants to see others grow and improve. That kind of caring produces trust.
Want to know more about how leaders create authentic, trusting relationships needed to expand their influence and impact, able to leave a larger legacy? Click here.
