Building an Environment of Trust

SUMMARY

Do your people really trust you? Is your organisation fostering an environment where people are able to rely on each other and where that negative energy that goes into doubting whether or not people have got their back is being able to put into being more productive?

Well, stick with me because this week, I want to help you build an environment of trust.

Trust is a critical component that every individual needs to be able to move forward with their leader. We can look all around the world and there are many examples going on right now where there is a lack of trust, where people just do not put their faith in other human beings because they've been let down.

As a leader, for you to stand out and thrive and survive in this volatile world that we live in, you need to be trusted. Beyond that, you need to develop a team that trusts each other. When you've got those things, you can go anywhere together.

Attraction and retention of quality people is still an issue, but when teams trust each other and they're happy with the environment that they're in, they stay. And not only do they stay, but they also give a hundred per cent, and work together to get what you want done.

Leadership has changed: Today’s leaders need to be taught to lead in today's world.

However, trust is a constant. That's not something that's changed. It's been there from day one, where people need to do certain things for you to trust them.

The first thing you need to do as a leader is be okay with not having it all together.

The second thing that you need to do is communicate.

Building an environment of trust is going to eliminate a lot of challenges.

One of the reasons why people don't delegate is they fail to trust their people to get the same result that they would get if they did it themselves. So, make sure that trust is the foundation of everything that you do in your team.

You trust them, and they'll trust you.

TRANSCRIPT

Do your people really trust you? Is your organisation fostering an environment where people are able to rely on each other and where that negative energy that goes into doubting whether or not people have got their back is being able to put into being more productive?

Well, stick with me because this week, I want to help you to shift that culture.

Hi, this is Grant Herbert, VUCA Leadership and Sustainable Performance Coach, and today I want to continue our conversation around relationship management by helping you to build an environment of trust.

Think back to the relationships you've had with leaders in your career:

Have there been times when you've doubted what their motives are? Where you're thinking about whether or not they've got your back?

Are they sharing information and letting you know when things are coming up?

Are they keeping their promises or are they breaking them?

With that in your mind's eye now, think about your people and what they may perceive about you.

Trust is a critical component that every individual needs to be able to move forward with their leader. We can look all around the world and there are many examples going on right now where there is a lack of trust, where people just do not put their faith in other human beings because they've been let down.

There's a frame of reference around leadership that is not a healthy one.

As a leader, for you to stand out and thrive and survive in this volatile world that we live in, you need to be trusted. Beyond that, you need to develop a team that trusts each other. When you've got those things, you can go anywhere together.

Attraction and retention of quality people is still an issue, but when teams trust each other and they're happy with the environment that they're in, they stay. And not only do they stay, but they also give a hundred per cent, and work together to get what you want done.

Leadership has changed: Today’s leaders need to be taught to lead in today's world.

However, trust is a constant. That's not something that's changed. It's been there from day one, where people need to do certain things for you to trust them.

The first thing you need to do as a leader is be okay with not having it all together. One of the reasons why there's a loss of trust is that people overpromise to get the approval of their people so that they feel like they belong, that they're good enough, and that they are liked. Then, they underdeliver.

People will accept that you are not perfect because they're not perfect. So, instead of overpromising and creating a lack of trust, the best thing to do is be realistic.

You can do this by saying: “Hey, I'd love to be able to get it done by then however this is when I'm going to get it done.” And then deliver on that. If, by chance, it gets done earlier, everyone's happy.

So, you can see now how a lot of these things around trust go back to that whole identity issue that we've talked about so many times before. Whenever you're trying to seek approval, you'll overpromise, and then you'll fall short on a lot of occasions.

Trust takes a long time to build because people have had previous experiences. However, it can be broken in just a snap of the fingers; when this happens, it will take longer to rebuild it.

So, what you want to do, as a leader, is to set the scene and the environment around how you operate and then mentor that with your team.

The second thing that you need to do is communicate.

Things change, and things happen. When you are getting towards a deadline, and things have shifted, make sure people know about it rather than having a situation where right at the last minute (when the deadlines at the door), you go: “Oh, I'm not going to be able to make it.”

That's where it creates a lot of challenges.

I had a similar issue this morning with a supplier. I’m having a kitchen put in and everything’s scheduled, and all those schedules interact with each other, and to get to the end result that I want to get done, everyone has to fall in line with that.

I had a particular person in that process who just decided to push out when they were going to do what they said they would do and that didn’t just affect that day; it affected every other day in that structure. It affected all the people involved, and we had to change the whole thing around.

For me, that organisation has lost trust in me.

So, this is what is happening all the time.

As a leader, you need to anticipate that things are going to shift. Instead of worrying about people getting upset and not jumping on the phone to let them know what’s going on, just give them a call several days before the deadline and go: “Hey, there's a possibility that I'm not going to be able to meet the deadline that I said I was going to meet.”

When you do this, things can be adjusted without it being a crisis.

Trust is important.

Trust is a barrier to getting the results.

So, building that trust to remove that barrier means that you and your team are going to get a lot more done.

As a leader, you are doing these things yourself.

What you need to do is create an environment and a culture where it's okay for people not to have it all together as well and for them to communicate without ramifications of retribution when they speak up and say:

“Hey, we're not going to be able to meet that deadline.”

“I'm not going to be able to do this,”

“I’m not going to be able to stick to that, and therefore, I'm going to push that out a little bit.”

They need to be able to feel okay communicating those things instead of making promises that everybody has a challenge keeping.

Building an environment of trust is going to eliminate a lot of challenges.

One of the reasons why people don't delegate is they fail to trust their people to get the same result that they would get if they did it themselves. So, make sure that trust is the foundation of everything that you do in your team.

You trust them, and they'll trust you.

It's a two-way street, not a one-way thing.

A lot of times, people only look at it that way where its leaders need to be trusted. Well, your people need you to trust them as well.

Well, that's it from me for another week.

Join me again next week as we continue this conversation around all things leadership.

Do what you can to be the leader your team needs you to be, and that will help you have more influence, more income, and make a bigger impact in your career.

I'll see you then.