What would you say is the key ingredient of effective corporate leadership? Communication? Vision? Integrity? Delegation skills? While all of these are important, there is something even more fundamental that informs all of them: trust. Effective leadership is all about developing and maintaining trust. If your team does not trust you, it doesn’t really matter how qualified you are, how well you communicate, or how brilliant your vision may be. Trust is what inspires your team to follow you, and to buy into your vision. Your most important step as a leader, therefore, is to build trust between you and your team members. Corporate Class explains why trust is so important, and outlines some strategies to help you nurture it.
Core Qualities of a Good Leader
If you ask most people what the core qualities of a good leader are, you may receive answers like integrity, empathy, communication, self-awareness, accountability, emotional intelligence, resilience, innovation and adaptability, among others. These are indeed some of the indispensable qualities of good leadership. However, if we look a little deeper at each of them, we realize they have something in common. Leaders who show these qualities demonstrate competence, initiative and care for their team members. In so doing, they develop trust.
When employees trust their leaders, they are more likely to come together to reach common goals. It would not be too big a claim to say that, while each of these core qualities is vital to successful leadership, they all help to develop trust, which is the most important quality of effective leadership. Whatever goals you may have as a leader, building trust should be high on the list, and whatever values you uphold in the management of your team, trust should be foremost among them.
Strategies for Building Trust in Diverse Teams
Considering the importance of trust in leadership, how should you go about developing it, especially when you are leading a diverse team of individuals from different backgrounds and with different values? Building trust involves these five key strategies:
- Use, teach and encourage open communication: Communication has been mentioned a number of times now, and that is because it is central to establishing trust. Leaders should focus on transparency, sharing information freely, and always being available to clarify instructions, values and ideas.
- Empower your team members: A leader who does not trust team members to carry out certain tasks will be unlikely to earn trust in return. Focus on delegating key tasks to your team members. They will be sure to reward the trust you place in them.
- Give credit and recognition wherever they are due: Sometimes, all an employee needs to become a loyal team member is a little recognition for the work they do. This will show that you value your team’s efforts and inspire them to do more.
- Be consistent in your words and actions: Mean what you say and always follow through on your promises. Failure to do so will immediately have an adverse effect on the trust your employees place in you. How can anyone trust you if you fail to deliver on a promise, or if your actions are not consistent with the things you say?
- Focus on inclusivity: Make every team member feel valued, regardless of their demographic background or personality quirks. Show that you are willing to accept everybody as they are, and encourage everyone in your team to do the same. If you need help improving your diversity and inclusion practices, you can get expert professional help from our Centre for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.
Measuring and Building Trust in the Workplace
Considering the importance of trust, it can’t be left as something intangible and open to chance. Turn it into a measurable value that you can assess and develop. The best way to measure trust is through employee feedback. Compile an employee engagement survey that examines your team members’ thoughts and feelings around matters of trust and inclusion. The survey should be designed to gather employees’ thoughts in relation to themselves, the team, and management. After analyzing the responses, you can then determine how trust needs to be improved between you and your team, and among the team members themselves.
This should be a strategic priority in the management of your team. If your team lacks trust, you will soon notice one or more of the following undesirable consequences:
- High employee turnover
- Low engagement
- Low productivity
- Resistance to change
- Reduced employee autonomy and morale
If you find that you could use help fostering trust in your team, Corporate Class can help with our Executive Presence & Leadership Coaching courses. Contact us for more information about this and other tips and programs to help develop effective leadership.
