“trust is like the air we breath, when its present, nobody notices, when its absent, everybody notices.” Warren Buffett I came across this quote the other day and it really got me thinking. I’ve worked in a fair few places, and if I think of the best places I have worked, I can't say the word trust was ever mentioned or even occurred to me while there. Then I think about the places I have worked that I would call “challenging work environments” and I can distinctly remember people talking about the lack of trust the managers had in them and vice versa. So, how do we build trust? And why is it so important for a leader and their businesses or projects? Trust is important because without it, you cannot influence, which I have already said in a previous post. Trust is the basis for being an effective leader. Trust is earned, not given with a title. Trust can be reinforced or eroded by your actions, so it is important to start earning trust from day one. For me, the best way to build trust is to be present and available to your team. You need to make an effort to get to know them, as people with lives outside of work and show genuine interest in them. A leader needs to support their people in the workplace, and this means all the time, not only when things go wrong. Be honest with your staff, and generally treat them the way you would want to be treated. Always give them the benefit of the doubt, regardless of the situation. Be honest and open and share information and reasons for change. It is also important to make sure your body language matches what you say because actions speak louder than words. Most people interpret more from your body language than from what you say.
Here are 2 examples of places I have worked;
The leader came in early and dealt with some of his emails, but as soon as the first staff member arrived, he was there to greet and chat to everyone. He had a schedule outside the door of his office, with certain times of his day blocked out for business needs, the rest of the day was free (as far as I recall it was about 60/40 split in favour of “staff time”). If his door was closed, but a staff member needed him desperately, he would drop anything for the staff member and help and reassure them without question. A lot of his day was spent walking from office to office checking in on staff, getting personal updates of projects and works being completed. He had “email free Fridays” where he would not answer or send any emails, encouraging personal communication. He held regular meetings to update staff on any business developments. He also carried a notebook everywhere with him and would write down anything he needed to do for his staff. There was also a notebook outside his office where people could write requests. These he would always action or update on, within 48 hours. He mostly ate his lunch with his staff. He did coaching sessions with his staff often and brought them any new information he had that would improve productivity. His staff knew they could challenge him if he did not live up to his own high standards, without fear of retribution. This team hit and exceeded targets every month.
The second example is quite different. This manager spent most of their time with the door closed and on the phone or in meetings. They only really interacted with staff when there was a problem. This manager was glued to their laptop, and staff member would come talk to them, and more often than not, the manager would start typing emails while they were talking to them. Some staff had actually walked away without the manager knowing, as they where so engrossed in the email they were reading or typing. They “supported” staff, only when a problem became apparent and got upset when staff spoke to each other instead of to them. The manager drove hard for their targets, at the expense of staff wellbeing. At times the manager would tell one staff member one thing in order to get something done, but tell another staff member something completely different (ignorant to the fact that staff talk amongst themselves). As you can imagine, absenteeism was rife in this second setting, due to staff burnout. Morale was low and the staff had very little trust in the manager.
One thing I have learned over the years is; Take care of your staff and they will take care of your business.
Here is what I’d like you all to try for the next week or two. Be 100% present and available to your staff, wherever possible. If a member of staff comes to you, close you laptop (or turn the desktop screen off), turn your phone over so you cant see the screen if there are calls or texts and actively listen to what hey have to say. Give them your full attention and watch to see the results.
To take this one step further; have a staff meeting, tell them you are going to be working on being a better leader and tell them that they can reprimand you if you don’t give them 100% attention when they come talk to you.
This small exercise will be the basis of starting to build trust or will reinforce the trust you already have with them.
Good luck
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