You’re an aviation manager with a new team. What’s the first thing you do to build trust?

1 Communicate openly and honestly

One of the first things you should do to build trust with your new team is to communicate openly and honestly with them. This means sharing your vision, goals, expectations, and feedback with them, as well as listening to their ideas, concerns, and opinions. Communication is a two-way street, and you need to show your team that you respect and value their input, and that you are willing to admit your mistakes and learn from them. By communicating openly and honestly, you can create a culture of transparency, accountability, and collaboration in your team.

4 Celebrate and collaborate with your team

A fourth thing you should do to build trust with your new team is to celebrate and collaborate with them. This means acknowledging and appreciating their achievements, contributions, and strengths, as well as celebrating their milestones, successes, and feedback. It also means involving them in your decision-making process, soliciting their input, and incorporating their perspectives. You should also encourage your team to work together, share information, and leverage their diversity and complementarity. By celebrating and collaborating with your team, you can create a positive, productive, and fun work environment for your team.

5 Model and reinforce trust behaviors

A fifth thing you should do to build trust with your new team is to model and reinforce trust behaviors. This means acting with integrity, honesty, respect, and fairness in your interactions with your team and others. It also means keeping your promises, honoring your commitments, and following through on your actions. You should also reward and recognize your team members who display trust behaviors, and address and correct any behaviors that undermine trust. By modeling and reinforcing trust behaviors, you can set the tone and the standards for your team and others.

6 Build trust over time and through challenges

A sixth thing you should do to build trust with your new team is to build trust over time and through challenges. Trust is not something that can be achieved overnight or without effort. It requires consistency, patience, and perseverance. You should also be prepared to face and overcome challenges with your team, such as conflicts, changes, crises, and failures. These challenges can test and strengthen your trust, or damage and weaken it, depending on how you handle them. You should use these challenges as opportunities to learn, grow, and improve with your team, and to show them that you are reliable, resilient, and supportive.