People work harder when they know their boss is trustworthy. Trust is essential to building employee engagement and motivation. And as noted by Jim Dougherty, senior lecturer at MIT’s Sloan School of Management, “managers will never learn the truth about a company unless they have their employees’ trust.”

So, how can you build trust as the bedrock of your team’s – and organization’s – success?

Create personal connections.

Get to know your employees and let them get to know you. They will support business goals and changes if they can view you as a fellow human instead of an immutable administrative force.

Communicate transparently.

Employees realize there is some information that you simply cannot share. But at the same time, they will know when you’re holding something back or worse yet, sharing it with some people but not others. Disclose as much as you can regarding company plans and future direction. Any voids will likely be filled with rumors and negative misinformation.

Have the integrity to tell the truth, even if it makes you the bearer of bad news.

Empower people.

People will trust you if you trust them. When your employees feel they are empowered and that company goals are aligned with their own, they will work harder and smarter.

Share the credit and shoulder the blame.

Reinforce the fact that everyone is working toward shared goals. Instead of casting blame, put it back upon yourself when things go wrong. This shows that you don’t believe different rules apply to you than to your employees.

Show your competence.

If you are not good at your job, you can forget about earning or maintaining employee trust. Even if everyone really likes you, you still must be competent in order to be trusted.

As you build leadership skills and foster employee trust, turn to the workforce development experts at Pridestaff Fresno to steer you in the right direction. In addition to helping you source and retain top talent, we can partner with you to best develop skills and success among your leadership team. Contact us today for more information.

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