We spend a lot of time and energy at work, we want to be sure that it is a safe and supportive environment for us.
But, how can this be achieved? Here are three ways to create and maintain trust in the workplace:
Be vulnerable
Being vulnerable is all about being honest and open with your team. Show your team that you are a real person, be empathetic to their needs and issues. Ensure that team members are aware of the strengths and weaknesses of individuals in the team (including you) and encourage mutual support in these areas.
Be intentional
Know what you want to do and why. Have an end (SMART) goal and make sure that your team is aware of this. Create a strategy and action points that will support this goal, and communicate this with the team. It’s so much easier to create inclusion when the whole team is aware of the what, why and how.
Be accountable
Consider who you are answerable to...it’s your team. If you commit to a project or a decision, then you are responsible for seeing it through. If you don’t show this level of commitment then that could have a ripple effect on the whole team. For a team to work together well, all members should be accountable to one another and that includes leaders.
If one member of the team doesn’t accept responsibility or accountability, then this creates a culture of frustration and negativity.
Creating trust has to be done with integrity. It can’t be created by force. Don’t expect your team to suddenly trust one another completely, just because you decided to have a team building away-day. In fact it’s likely that this may create some level of anxiety in team members.
Trust happens organically in the workplace through communication; ensuring that team members are given the specific information they need, in order to feel included and considered.
