Developing Trust -
“A team without trust isn’t really a team”
Trust plays an important role in any manager's relationships with his or her employees. Given the importance of trust, today's managers should actively seek to develop it within their work group.
A team without trust isn't really a team: it's just a group of individuals, working together, often making disappointing progress. They may not share information, they might battle over rights and responsibilities, and they may not cooperate with one another. It doesn't matter how capable or talented your team members are, they may never reach their full potential if trust isn't present.
However, when trust is in place, each individual in the team becomes stronger, because he or she is part of an effective, cohesive group. When people trust one another, the group can achieve truly meaningful goals. So how can you, as a leader/Manager, help your team build the trust that it needs to flourish? In this article we'll look at the issue of trust within teams, why it's important, and what you can do to build it.
We can look at few suggestions which can help managers/Leaders to be more effective at developing trust among your teams/employees.
Practice openness: Mistrust comes as much from what people don't know as from what they do know. Openness leads to confidence and trust. So keep people informed, make the criteria on how decisions are made overtly, explain the rationale for your decisions, be candid about problems, and fully disclose relevant information.
Be fair: Before decision or taking actions, consider how others will perceive them in terms of objectivity and fairness. Give credit where credit is due, be objective and impartial in performance appraisals, and pay attention to equity perceptions in reward distributions.
Speak your feelings: Managers who convey only hard facts come across as cold and distant. If you share your feelings, others will see you as real and human. They will know who you are and their respect for you will increase.
Tell the truth: Being trustworthy means being credible. If honesty is critical to credibility, then you must be perceived as someone who tells the truth. Employees are more tolerant of hearing something "they don't want to hear" than finding out that their manager lied to them.
Show consistency: People want predictability. Mistrust comes from not knowing what to expect. Take the time to think about your values and beliefs. Then let them consistently guide your decisions. When you know your central purpose, your actions will follow accordingly, and you will project a consistency that earns trust.
Fulfill your promises: Trust requires that people believe that you are dependable. So you need to ensure that you keep your word and commitments. Promises made must be promises kept.
A manager or leader must maintain confidence and he should trust people who are discreet and on whom he can rely. So if people make them selves vulnerable by telling a manager something in confidence, they need to feel assured that he will not discuss it with others or betray their confidence. If people perceive a manager or a person as someone who leaks personal confidences or someone who can't be depended on, he won't be perceived as trustworthy.
Lead by Example If you want to build trust within your team, then lead by example and show your people that you trust others. This means trusting your team, your colleagues, and your boss. Never forget that your team members are always watching and taking cues from you – take the opportunity to show them what trust in others really looks like. As a manager one must demonstrate ones competence and skills. Then only the team will develop the admiration and respect of others by demonstrating technical and professional ability. Manager should pay particular attention to developing and displaying communication, negotiation, and other interpersonal skills to prove his mettle as a boss or revered person.
