Students ask me all the time, how do I build trust with my team. Here are some easy and proven ways to build trust and ultimately, good relationships with your teammates.
From WatchTower Leadership Solutions.
- Keep Commitments – when someone asks you to do something, either one of your team or your boss, follow through. Make sure it doesn’t fall through the cracks. Keeping you commitments demonstrates the basic level of trust.
- Deliver Results – or as Jocko Willick says, “PERFORM!” The is no better way to build trust with your boss and Command than performing well. Whether as an individual or as the team leader, when a task is assigned, dominate it. And always look for opportunities to help improve your organization.
- Be present – you can’t be part of team if they never see you. Get out in the field and help. You don’t have to supervise them, just help them. Let them run the call and just ask what you can do to help.
- Admit mistakes and apologize – I always say, and I have posted a lot, there is no better way to build trust that to admit when you are wrong.
- Build relationships – if the cornerstone of leadership is trust, then the BEST way to build trust is through relationships. John Maxwell said, “Nobody cares how much you know until they know how much you care about them.”
- Extend trust – we must give people our trust before they will trust us. Trust is a two way street. We have to extend trust first.
- Humility – the second cornerstone of leadership. Humility help you to be open, sometimes even vulnerable, and always approachable.
Work hard on these things every day and you will build a great team!
Check out Mike’s leadership course, Leadership for Front Line Supervisors
