Do rooms go quiet when you walk into the office? Maybe you hear your staff having a nice chat by the water cooler, then suddenly everyone disperses as soon as you make your presence known. Maybe meetings are quiet and no one wants to offer their ideas. Maybe some staff members feel resistant towards opening up to you because you’ve unknowingly made them feel they aren’t your “favourite”. Whatever it is, you need to adjust quickly.

These are signs your staff doesn’t trust you. And you need to earn that trust back. But how?

According to a study by Harvard Business Review, high-trust companies observed that people were 74% less stressed, had 106% more energy at work and saw 50% more productivity and engagement compared to those at low-trust companies, proving that trust is really the bedrock of efficiency. 

Trust is the foundation of success. Without it, your business won’t be able to function properly because your staff doesn’t fully trust in your ability or your decisions. When you earn your staff’s trust, you prime your practice to achieve its goals because everyone will be efficient and excited to work alongside you. 

Why is trust important in the workplace? 

Trust is what brings a business together. When your staff trusts you (and vice versa), they’re more likely to make the most of their tasks and perform optimally because they want to help you achieve your business goals. 

Trust matters at work because when staff members don’t believe in their business leader, they feel unsure, struggle to make decisions without constant approval (which often turns into micromanaging), and will keep any mistakes to themselves. 

Staff members won’t push themselves to do the most they can because they’re worried they’ll mess up and their business leader will be unhappy so they’ll constantly be walking on eggshells. Employees who don’t trust their business leader are less likely to innovate or offer up new ideas because they’re afraid of being shot down and feel as if their leader won’t support them.

Trust builds a successful, long-lasting team that will maximise your chances of achieving your business goals. You ought to establish that as well as do the following:  

• Know how you lead
• Understand each of your team members
• Develop your team vision, purpose, values and goals
• Have clearly defined functional roles and responsibilities
• Promote trust and collaboration within your team
• Provide ongoing feedback and encourage improvement
• Acknowledge and reward your staff for excellent work
• Celebrate team wins

5 ways leaders destroy trust

Business leaders often don’t understand that what they do daily actually affects their team significantly and the way some business leaders approach their practice makes their team anxious and distrustful. Here are five ways that leaders negatively impact relationships with their staff. 

1. Micromanaging

When you nitpick every decision your staff members make, they start to hesitate. You diminish their confidence and they’ll begin to feel they need your approval for everything they do, making them less likely to trust you. 

2. Favouritism

When your staff can see that you blatantly favour some employees over others, they won’t feel as inclined to give you their trust. They’ll feel like they’re either doing something wrong or that you overlook them on purpose. When you show that you’re more invested in some employees and not them, they’ll feel they can’t measure up.

3. Inefficient communication

When you fail to communicate everything well (especially when it comes to information that everyone in your practice should know), people feel they aren’t trusted and will return that energy. Poor communication plants seeds of distrust. Staff will ask: Why didn’t I receive that memo? How did you find that out but not me? 

You have to make sure that everyone who needs to know certain things is in the loop and if there’s information that everyone should be aware of, there are channels for them to access it. Use company-wide email blasts or announcements during meetings. Be inclusive and efficient when you communicate. 

4. The staff gets little to no support

When you don’t make the effort to connect with your staff or even give them the support they need with their business ideas and tasks, much less show them adequate support in terms of their health and personal lives, they won’t trust you. After all, if you show that you can’t cherish them and their professional contributions, what more in terms of a relationship beyond the business?  

Staff will feel dispensable and like warm bodies meant to just finish their tasks that you don’t care for beyond their productivity. When you provide them with what they need to feel comfortable in their job, you show them you care and you earn their trust. 

5. You don’t trust them back

If you show that you can’t trust your staff and are always meddling with their tasks or even going as far as looking at their emails or always confronting them about not working and spending all their time at the water cooler, they won’t trust you back. 

You need to give your employees their space and time to take care of their tasks. When they see that you’re not trying to intervene constantly or are always snooping around in their documents, they’ll feel like you’re empowering them to make decisions and help build your business. 

5 ways leaders can build trust

In order to be a good, inspiring leader (and not just another boss), you need to win your staff’s trust. Here are five ways. 

1. Own up to your mistakes

When you show you’re human and can make mistakes (and own up to them), you make yourself seem more down-to-earth and easy to relate to. Once your staff sees that you make mistakes, they don’t feel as much pressure to perform perfectly either and they’ll see you as a person they can trust. 

Your staff won’t be as nervous to be vulnerable and open to errors–as long as they show they want to learn from them. 

2. Praise staff and celebrate their wins

It’s important to recognise staff wins and successes because it boosts their morale and makes them more likely to repeat that performance. People like to feel they did well and being recognised for it feels even better–make it known that you appreciate their efforts and that they’re not going unnoticed. 

3. Be transparent with everyone

When you don’t pick and choose who gets certain information, staff feel less anxious. When you show your staff members that they’re all privy to the same memos, announcements and company data (so long as it’s all relevant to everybody), you tell them there are no favourites and that everyone has a stake. 

4. Make an effort to connect with your team 

Your employees aren’t cogs in a machine–they’re people with lives just like you. Showing interest in their hobbies and what they do after work helps establish connections that tell them you’re genuinely interested in them beyond what they do for your business. People trust others who don’t just see them as pawns in a game or as means to ends. 

5. Show you’re acting on their feedback

When you encourage feedback and then act on it and actively show that you’re trying to change your ways, your staff will trust you more. They’ll see that their concerns aren’t falling on deaf ears and will appreciate your efforts. 

Your staff may have some observations about your behaviour and want some changes in how you interact with them. Instead of brushing away these concerns, take them into consideration and consciously change how you approach them. 

Earning your staff’s trust will positively affect morale and put you in the best position to achieve your business goals. It’s one thing to work with people who simply accomplish their tasks day in and day out, clocking in sluggishly. It’s another to see that they’re excited and want the best for you and your business because they trust in your vision and your leadership.

If you want to learn more about how to earn your staff’s trust and have them as enthusiastic as you are, get in touch with us and we’re sure to help.