Trust Me

Have you ever wondered what your employees really think about you?  Granted, there are always one or two team members who are honest to a fault.  What about everyone else?  Just as it is difficult for your team to excel without feedback, it is nearly impossible to be a great leader without similar feedback.

Enjoy!

Gary

As you well know, trust is the foundation of all relationships, personally and professionally.  It is very difficult to move forward without trust in others.  In the professional environment, this is a key element that is often overlooked.  The dirty secret that more than half of all employees hide is that they don’t trust the leadership at their organization.  In fact, they trust their peers more than their manager.

Sadly, trust is a commodity that grows in scarcity with each passing year.  According to the Building Workplace Trust 2014/15 survey, 26% of respondents felt less trust for their boss in 2014 than the previous year

Trust is more than employees liking management.  It has to do with their comfort level with communication, especially when it comes to decisions that directly impact their day-to-day work.  It is felt that trust is essential for an employee’s effectiveness. 

Trust is the catalyst for innovation.  When teams trust their leadership, they are more open to sharing new ideas.  Those ideas just might lead to the next big revenue stream.  It also leads to better productivity and customer service and might just be the one of the biggest factors in retaining top talent.

Building trust takes time, especially if that trust has been tested.  There are four things that can be done immediately to begin the process.

1.     Admit mistakes – Everyone is human.  Acknowledgment of this is powerful.

2.     Ask for feedback – While this can be scary, and might just test any insecurity you may possess, it is necessary.

3.     Share rationale for leadership decisions – People may not like the decision, but will be more open to accepting it if they understand the ‘why’ behind it.

4.     Encourage development – Investing in the team is an investment in the entire organization.

Trusted leaders make consistent decisions and demonstrate predictability and transparency.  They are personable and stay away from fads in management.  These leaders also understand that trust takes time to foster, but can disappear in an instant.  Because of this, they work hard to maintain a favorable reputation.
Gary Vice is sought out by leaders in Software and Services who recognize the need to attract the industry’s best talent.  Through Strategic Recruiting Partners’ extensive network of relationships, they are able to identify high level opportunities for well qualified candidates.  To discover how this process can benefit your job search, simply reply to this email or call Gary at 469.402.4008.