Leadership, do you know how to gain your team’s trust?
All professionals in leadership positions have one challenge in common: gaining the trust of their team. Achieving this feat is not an easy task, but it is essential for all the gears to work and for successful results to appear. So, how can this happen?
Nowadays, the image of a leader is very different from what it was a few years ago, isn’t it? In the past, the idea of a “boss” as someone authoritarian, who held all the knowledge and power, was the rule. As a result, employees didn’t have much space and often just followed orders according to the decisions of their boss.
However, there is no longer any room for this professional profile. Leadership needs to be different, after all, collaborative, purposeful and light-hearted teamwork can take companies much further. To achieve this, leaders need to act in a truly strategic manner to win over their teams and see productivity and engagement increase.
So, if you want to find out how to do this and bring employees to your side, check out six valuable tips below.
Gaining your team’s trust: how to achieve this feat?
1 – Look inside: first of all, work on self-confidence
How can you expect people to trust you if you don’t trust yourself? The process of gaining other people’s trust is a real mirror exercise. You need to believe in yourself and have conviction so that others can see it when they look at you.
Therefore, start this journey by exercising self-confidence. For this stage, having the help of a psychotherapist can be an excellent idea.
2 – Be a true professional example
You’ve probably heard the saying “do as I say, not as I do,” right? However, you absolutely cannot let that out of your mouth if you want to be an admired and trusted leader.
Good leaders teach by example and thus become inspirations for their teams. They show that they know how to do things, that they can solve problems, that they have valuable skills, that they know how to teach and, because of all this, they are a safe haven. Someone that employees can count on at all times and who will help them whenever necessary.
3 – Don’t let the hierarchy “go to your head”
Remember the image of the old “boss”? This is the exact opposite of a trustworthy leader. So don’t let hierarchy “go to your head.”
Being in a leadership position is a great and admirable achievement. However, in a corporate organization, all employees are essential and contribute to the company’s goals, each with their own responsibilities and skills. You are not special or better than your team because you are a leader.
Therefore, think of a collaborative management model that combats this stereotype. Listening to and accepting criticism is healthy. You don’t need to micromanage your employees, as they all have unique knowledge and can contribute significantly to the team. Instilling a sense of community is the best way to come up with revolutionary ideas and find success.
4 – Invest in empathy and active listening
Along the same lines, it’s much easier to trust someone who listens to you and has empathy for you, isn’t it? For this reason, these two soft skills are essential for today’s leaders.
By paying real attention to the professionals on your team, you build a professional relationship with them and change the concept of hierarchy present in the team. You will continue to be a leader, but as a great example, and not as a person with the stereotypes of coldness, calculation and impersonality.
5 – Create closeness: show interest, offer feedback and recognize the team’s work
Active listening and empathy are the first steps to creating even greater closeness, something that will make employees trust you. Another way to develop this relationship is to get to know the professionals in more depth, taking an interest in their technical skills and also their lives outside of work.
This way, it will be much easier to think about development plans, delegate tasks and offer feedback in a targeted and personalized way, which improves the entire work environment. As a result, you will also be able to recognize the team’s work much more easily and objectively, and who doesn’t like being recognized, right?
6 – Be as transparent and communicative as possible
Finally, don’t forget about transparency and communication. You will often be the bridge between your team members and the company’s management, so being transparent about decisions and strategies whenever possible will change the way you are perceived.
