“There is one thing that is common to every individual, relationship, team, family, organization, nation, economy, and civilization throughout the world—one thing which, if removed, will destroy the most powerful government, the most successful business, the most thriving economy, the most influential leadership, the greatest friendship, the strongest character, the deepest love. On the other hand, if developed and leveraged, that one thing has the potential to create unparalleled success and prosperity in every dimension of life. Yet, it is the least understood, most neglected, and most underestimated possibility of our time. That one thing is trust.” (Covey, 2008). Trust is the foundation of leadership influence; however, many leaders need help developing it in their workplace. Trust is slow to build yet quick to lose. Unfortunately, we all know the feeling when we no longer trust someone or when someone states they no longer trust us, yet it is difficult to conceptualize. Cultivate Leadership Institute (CLI) is the best place to start if you want to improve your leadership influence by developing trust in your workplace.
CLI is a Christian leadership development program that exists to help individuals grow in their God-given leadership potential. The CLI instructors know the importance of trust in a leader’s influence, so the program offers specific courses on group dynamics and building trust. Individuals engaged in this remote learning program receive live class instruction, group discussion, self-reflective assignments, and resources to increase their trust-building knowledge. There are five main ways to develop trust through your leadership role that CLI expands on in the program: go first, listen to understand, live a valued life, provide feedback, and be consistent.
Before learning how to develop trust in the workplace, we must recognize our motives. The motivation behind building trust needs to be focused on caring well for co-workers instead of using trust for manipulation to increase work production. If a leader uses these steps to build trust for their own benefit, trust will be lost quickly. Please take a few minutes to reflect on your reasoning for building trust in the workplace and then continue reading below.
Go First
A team that does not trust each other will fail to live out their God-given potential. James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner describe trust as “...the social glue that holds individuals and groups together. The level of trust others have in you will determine the amount of influence you have. You have to earn your constituents’ trust before they’ll be willing to trust you. You have to give trust before you can get trust.” (Kouzes & Posner, 2010). As leaders, we must take the first step in building trust with others. Going first entails being vulnerable with employees and sharing aspects of your personal history so you are seen as a human instead of a “stoic” leader. We must understand that building trust is foundational in establishing a healthy team culture. If our employees do not trust us, it can impact communication, honesty, commitment to the work, and, eventually, the company's mission. Patrick Lencioni states in his book The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, “Remember teamwork begins by building trust. And the only way to do that is to overcome our need for invulnerability.” (Lencioni, 2002).
Listen to Understand
Leaders must also seek to understand their employees to build trust in a company. This begins with spending intentional time actively listening to others, which allows leaders to learn more about their employees and their motivation for work. Sometimes, leaders listen to respond instead of listening to understand someone. People want to be seen and heard, so spending time with employees to learn about them makes it easier for them to trust their leader.
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Live a Valued Life
According to C.S. Lewis, “Integrity is doing the right thing, even when no one is watching.” As leaders, we must know our values and live in alignment with them, regardless of our environment. Our values represent our morals or standards of behavior, allowing us to be the same person in public as we are in private. To build trust, employees witness us live out our values through our business decisions and how we treat those we interact with daily. CLI spends intentional time helping leaders establish their values to continue building trust in the workplace.
Provide Feedback
As we build trust in our leadership role, we must give honest feedback to others. Bene Brown states, “Clear is kind,” which aligns with how we provide feedback. People trust leaders who are honest with them, and trust declines if leaders just tell employees what they want to hear. Being intentional with feedback allows space for employees to reach their full God-given potential. As leaders, we must also be willing to receive feedback from others and trust them to help us grow our leadership skills.
Be Consistent
Another way to build trust is to do what you say you will do. As a leader, if your words do not match your actions, an employee will be unsure what to expect and lose trust in you. It is essential to be mindful of your ability to follow through with your statements and tasks you commit to completing. Our character is pivotal in building trust, so being self-aware of your capacity and being consistent with your actions will help trust flourish in your workplace.
References
Covey, Steven M.R. (2008). The SPEED of Trust: The One Thing That Changes Everything. Free Press.
Kouzes, J. M., & Posner, B. Z. (2010). The Truth about Leadership: The No-fads, Heart-of-the-Matter Facts You Need to Know. Wiley.
Lencioni, Patrick. (2002). The Five Dysfunctions of a Team. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
