Trust is essential for in-person teams and remote workers. Without it, any employee is likely to be less motivated and productive. In fact, workers at high-trust companies report 74 percent less stress, exhibit 50 percent higher productivity, and experience 40 percent less burnout.
If you’d like your organization to succeed, you must foster mutual trust between all team members. But this is easier said than done. Only 1 out of 5 HR and engagement leaders believe their employees deeply trust company leaders, and 50 percent of employees said they don’t think HR is trustworthy.
Learning how to build trust at work is critical if you’re going to be successful as an employee, a manager, or an effective leader. Oftentimes, the first step to building trust is building rapport. If you don’t have trust, it’ll be more difficult to communicate and coordinate with your peers or colleagues.
Practical trust
This is the more traditional type of trust, and the one that usually first comes to mind when thinking about how to trust someone.
You earn this kind of trust by being a hard-working employee. You show up on time. You get your work done and meet deadlines.
Earning this kind of trust will get you the reputation of being someone who’s reliable and competent. When you say you’ll do something, you actually do it.
Without this kind of trust, people will micromanage you. Communication can break down, and productivity will decrease.
Keep in mind: employers building trust with their staff is just as important as the other way around. Whether you’re a manager or an entry-level employee, it’s crucial that you build trust with those around you.
Be honest and supportive
Even when it’s difficult, tell the truth and not just what you think people want to hear. Understand what employees need to know and communicate facts while being considerate of their effort and sensitive to their feelings. Showing support and understanding for your team members, even when mistakes are made. It goes a long way in building trust as a leader.
Be transparent
Transparency opens the door for honest conversations, collaboration and respect. It can help take some of the mystery and skepticism out of the workplace that leads to feelings of mistrust. Consistent and regular communications should be a priority for trustworthy leaders, and the communication is best when it’s timely, relevant and focused on what employees need to know and why, so they have context.
However, being transparent doesn’t mean needing to have all the answers all the time. The most trustworthy leaders are not afraid of saying “I don’t know, but let me find out and get back to you.”
Logic
If the reasoning and judgment behind your arguments are sound, people will trust you. If not – they won’t.
Leaders should speak the language of facts, looking for reliable data to build their arguments upon. There is nothing wrong with admitting you don’t know something. Learn from other people, use reliable resources, and say only those things you’re sure about.
For leaders, the accuracy of what they say is just as important as how they say it. The value of your ideas may be high, but you also have to communicate them effectively.
Follow through on promises
An easy way to build trust is by following through on doing what you say you intend to do. If someone is relying on you to perform a task or finish a project, you could break their trust by not completing what you should. If you know you can’t do something because you either lack the know-how or time, be honest and upfront with your teammate so you don’t end up over-promising and under-delivering.
