4 Practical Tips To Build Trust In Teams

Are you struggling with gaining your teams' trust? If yes, you're at the right place. Here in this article, I’m sharing a few tips that you can implement to build and gain the trust of your team members.

Trust provides a basis for any relationship whether personal or professional. Without trust, relationships don't progress and grow. It's a prerequisite for success. It's not easy to gain the trust of your team members as one has to earn this trust. Never mistake respect for someone’s abilities for trust. Respect can come from reputation and experience, but trust has to be earned. To do this, you need to put in some time and effort.

1. Transparency

Being open and honest with your team is one of the best things you can do to build trust. Ensuring transparency and accountability is a must so people know you are always being open and honest. Allow your team members to ask any questions they have and answer them as best as you can with the information that you have. Hiding information is not helpful because it can affect how they approach their work. Also, not being honest and making it up as you go means you have to remember what you said. The truth will always be true (duh Rico).

Do share all the information with your team. Try not to withhold any information. I only have 1 exception to this and that is when the information can be harmful. In that case, it is more about waiting for the right time vs withholding it altogether. This can sometime feel difficult with large teams and one way I’ve learned to address this is to send out a weekly email sharing what I’ve been working on and what I’ve been thinking about personally and professionally. It is important because they get something directly from me and not through the grapevine. This has really helped me build that connection and develop that trust with larger teams.

Keep your team along for the ride so decisions and goals don’t surprise them. Ask for their advice and opinion on work matters. Let them take part in decision-making if possible. If they feel seen and feel like they are part of the process, they will trust you to represent them in any and all forums.

2. Be Vulnerable

It's not the time for being an egoistic and macho boss anymore. They're out of fashion just like rotary phones and dial-up internet. There is no harm in admitting that at times leaders have to struggle hard to deal with challenges whether they are personal or professional. Sometimes they had to face failures as well.

Inform your team about both your successes and failures. Don't hide anything. Making mistakes is what makes you human. This will help you gain the trust of your team members. Failures are unavoidable. In fact, they provide you with an opportunity to learn and grow. Show them that taking risks and failing are okay. Be the example they need, through the good and the bad.

3. Seek to Understand

Having effective communication in a team without understanding others isn't possible. First, you need to understand your team member's points of view. By doing this, you're in a better position to have a real conversation about the situation. Moving directly into solution mode or pushing your perspective without understanding others won’t build trust; it will degrade it.

Active listening can play a significant role in understanding others. Be present and listen carefully to others while they're talking. This way, people will feel valued and heard.

4. Care About Your Team

A healthy relationship among team members is necessary to develop trust. Make your team members feel seen by acknowledging their efforts and honoring them as people. Let them know that they're a valuable and essential part of the team. Speak to their specific work, projects, and interests. Talk to them about how they want to grow and develop while actually helping them achieve their goals.

Develop a personal connection with each employee by remembering core details about them. A sense of belongingness is built among the team which will in return increase the trust level of the members. Know them as humans and who they are outside of work. It’ll help you understand them while at work.

pBy implementing the tips shared above, you can build and grow trust with your team members. Building trust will develop an amazing, positive work environment of high performance, accountability, and fun. So fostering a feeling of trust and openness will not only help your team be successful, but will also make you more successful.

If you've got some tips for trust-building among the team members, share them in the comment box below.

Learn more tips like this and more in my Prepared Leaders: Essentials for Effective Leaders course or my premium 6-Figure Leadership Course. Lay a strong foundation for leadership and get coached personally by me, Rico Nasol.