Walking into a new organization is a scary prospect. Not because you don’t know what to do. Or even how to do the work.
The scary thing is the question of whether or not your new team will trust you.
Gaining the trust of your team can be the life or death of your leadership.
Why Trust Is Important
Moe Glenner, in his book Plus Change, says Trust is the glue in any relationship, personal or professional. Without trust there is no real relationship.
You may know leaders who rush right in and begin making changes. They throw out the old and bring in the new.
These leaders clean house and no one is safe.
That feeling of uneasiness around the leader persists for years. Seeing brash change makes people wary of new leadership.
People don’t want to follow a leader because they have to. People want to follow a leader because they know, like, and TRUST the leader.
Trust endears employees to us. Trust says they believe in your vision. Trust says I will follow you because you are looking out for me.
Trust makes people want to follow you.
How To Gain Trust
We know trust is the bedrock of any relationship. Whether that is our personal relationships or our business relationships. Trust is what makes things work
So, we need to know how to gain trust.
Do what you say you’re going to do: Want to earn trust? I’ve discovered the best way to earn trust, and this will seem like common sense, is to be trustworthy.
What does this mean? Being trustworthy means you do what you say you’re going to do.
You complete projects on time. You respond to requests in the time frame you set forth. You follow through.
Treat people with respect: The second best thing you can do to gain trust is to treat other people with respect. This can be another leader, your team, or someone else who is serving you (like a restaurant server).
When you begin to show respect to others, they begin to feel at ease. They know you’re not out to harm them. You’re there to lift them up.
Surround yourself with the right people: Do you remember growing up and your mother telling you that people will judge you by the people you associate with? Her saying was true.
By surrounding yourself with people of upstanding character and trustworthy traits, you become more trustworthy.
Heed mama’s advice. Be cautious of who you’re around.
Becoming Trustworthy Isn’t Hard
If you want to become trustworthy, the steps aren’t hard. You have to do what a trustworthy person will do.
Don’t cheat others. Don’t steal. Don’t stab others in the back.
Be a person of upstanding character. Be the one who tells the truth. Be a leader who does what he says he will.
This is how you will gain the trust of your team.
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