Creating trusting relationships is essential to working effectively as a team. Whether you’re part of a large company or a small business team, trust is key to your group’s success. How can you build trust with your teammates? It begins with becoming an authentic, trustworthy leader.
As a team leader, you must be willing to put the needs of others above your own while also being trustworthy and transparent. A highly trusted team is one in which every member trusts that their teammates have their best interests at heart, no matter what challenges they face.
When it comes to establishing trust on your team, actions speak louder than words. Here are eight actions that will help you get your team members to trust you and thrive as a result.
1. Be Transparent About Your Intentions
As a team leader, you will get better results with your team if you are transparent about your intentions. When you share your intentions with team members, you earn their trust, which leads to a more productive work environment.
The most important thing you can do to foster trust with your team members is to be transparent about your intentions. If they feel like they can’t trust you, they’ll never truly feel comfortable working with you.
When communicating with your team, try to avoid “making the news” or sharing unnecessary information that does not help your team members do their jobs better. Instead, focus your communication on information that helps your team members improve their job performance.
It’s important to share with your team members why you need certain information and when and how you plan to use it. This will earn their trust, and they will be much more likely to share their ideas and insights with you.
“I always make sure I’m being direct and honest with my team about my intentions,” adds Ryan Rottman, Co-Founder and CEO of OSDB. “I want them to know that I have their best interests at heart and that I’m not just trying to take advantage of them.”
2. Don’t Play People Against Each Other
Playing one team member against another can be very destructive and undermine trust in any team. Giving people the sense that you are “keeping score” or that you favor certain members over others is a sure way to create resentment and destroy trust among your team members.
Leaders have to trust their team members to do their jobs and not second-guess them or play one person against another. If you don’t trust your team, why did you hire them in the first place?
Jin Young Woo, CEO of Like Dreams adds, “In order for a team to be successful, its members need to trust each other and know that they are all working towards the same goal.”
When you have a team meeting or are addressing one member at a time, focus on the positive contributions that each person makes to the organization, even if they don’t do it in the same way as others.
Perhaps more importantly, you should always avoid comparing people to one another or making comparisons between team members and other departments or organizations. And when you address the entire team, focus on the overall success of the team, not individual performances.
3. Acknowledge and Appreciate Team Members’ Efforts
Every team member wants to feel appreciated and valued — especially when their work is noticed and appreciated by their peers. Although we all like to think that our work is important, the reality is that sometimes, our contributions are overlooked or go unnoticed because of cultural norms, the way we communicate, or a lack of gratitude on the part of other team members.
“When communicating with your team, be sure to acknowledge and appreciate the contributions that each team member makes on a regular basis,” says Morgan Rogers, Director of Marketing at Luna Grill. “And if you have a one-on-one meeting with a team member, ask that person what he or she needs in order to do an even better job.
“Then, be sure to follow through on your promises to that person. All team members want to be recognized for the contributions they make.”
4. Provide Clear Instructions and Expectations
If you want your team members to thrive, they must understand what’s expected of them and have a clear understanding of the instructions that you give them. No one thrives in an environment where they are unsure of what they are supposed to do or have little control over their tasks and assignments.
By providing clear instructions and expectations, you build trust with your team members because they know what is expected of them and can meet those expectations. And anytime you give instructions or set expectations for your team members, be sure to use “I” language.
Instead of saying, ‘We need to do better with our sales numbers,’ say, ‘I need you to do better with our sales numbers’. When you use ‘I’ language, you are focusing on the needs of the team members and not blaming them for the problems in the organization.
5. Celebrate Small Wins Together
When you celebrate the small wins that happen on your team, you build trust and help your team members feel supported and appreciated. Small wins are those positive events or accomplishments that lead to an increase in confidence and motivation.
“Even the smallest accolades can have a big impact when you recognize someone’s efforts in front of their peers,” says Robbie Singh, CEO of Predecessor Game. “When you make a point of honoring the team’s successes, you’re also helping to build trust.”
When you celebrate small wins on your team, you help boost your team members’ self-esteem and sense of accomplishment. What kinds of things should you celebrate on your team? Almost anything that your team members are doing well.
You can also celebrate successful milestones in projects, such as a group effort that reaches 50% completion. When you celebrate small wins together, you build a thriving team.
6. Don’t Make Promises You Can’t Keep
When you make promises to your team members, keep them. Because trust is essential to every relationship, you must not make false promises to your teammates. If you make a promise to a team member, keep it.
Or, if you know you can’t keep a promise, don’t make it in the first place. When you make a promise to a teammate, inform the rest of your team, so they know not to expect it to happen as well. If you are unable to keep a promise, inform the team member who expected it and apologize.
“If my team can’t trust me to keep my word, then how can they trust me to lead them?” says Nabiha Akhtar, CEO and Founder of Lil Deenies. “It’s essential that as a leader, my team knows that they can rely on me. And in order to gain that trust, I have to be honest with them, even if it means admitting when I’ve made a mistake.”
7. Don’t Point Fingers
As a team leader, you will have problems to solve, challenges to overcome, and mistakes to correct. When you make a mistake, don’t point fingers. Instead, take responsibility for your actions and apologize to the team member who was affected by your mistake. When a problem arises, don’t point fingers. Instead, look for a solution.
“Unfortunately, I’ve seen this a lot in my career thus far,” says Bryan Jones, CEO of Truckbase. “A team leader will make a mistake, and instead of owning up to it, they’ll try to find someone else to blame. This creates an environment of distrust and fear, and it makes it very difficult for team members to thrive.”
You may not be able to solve every problem on your team, but you can always look for a solution to the problem and then take responsibility for your part in the solution. When you take responsibility for your mistakes and problems instead of pointing fingers, you build trust with your team members and help them feel safe to make mistakes themselves.
8. Take Responsibility
When a problem arises on your team, look for solutions, but also take responsibility for your part in the problem. If you and your team members find a solution, you have built trust and a sense of safety with each other.
If you are responsible for the problem, take ownership of your actions and apologize to your teammates. By taking responsibility for your actions, you build trust with your team members and earn their respect.
It takes a mature, experienced leader to admit their mistakes. But by doing so, you create an environment of trust and respect. You might not get it right the first time, and that’s OK. What matters is that you’re trying to improve and grow as a leader.
Conclusion
When you put these eight actions into practice, you will build trust with your team members and create a thriving environment that promotes growth, productivity, and collaboration. When your team members trust you, you will be able to get more done in less time, and you will have happier, more productive team members who are excited to come to work each day.
Post by: Shannon Sparks
