"EARN TRUST, EARN TRUST, EARN TRUST."

Have you ever managed people who didn't really trust you? ?????????????? If the answer is "yes", I bet you have often felt challenged and frustrated.

Have you ever worked in an organisation or a team where people did not trust each other? ?????????????????????????? If the answer is "yes", I bet you felt unhappy and anxious most of the time.

Lack of trust is a lose-lose-lose situation for everyone: disappointing business results, impossible leadership, unmotivated employees.

And in times like now, a major reason why people leave the organisation.

?Trust makes a team out of a group of people working together.

?It ensures transparency and exchange of information. It sets and keeps focus on common goals and shared responsibilities (accountability).

??It safeguards innovation, creativity and a problem-solving mindset.

?It contributes to having fun at work.

Come to think of it: these are qualities we all want in our jobs!A company with such a culture is one we want to come to and stay at!

So how do we build trust and create the culture we all want to work in?

We start with understanding that there are 2 types of trust. And they are culturally determined.

If the team a/o organization we work in is international we need to step out of our own cultural preference and pay attention to both.

The types of trust on the work floor are:

- ?task-based. Also called cognitive trust. Common for Dutch and ?German companies, ?for example.

“I trust you because you do your job very well”

- relationship-based. Or affective trust. The type of trust preferred in South Korea and Saudi Arabia – according to the Trends in Export research – the two emerging important new markets.

“I trust you because I know and like you”.

My biggest tip on building trust, supported by research and experience:

invest extra time in developing relationship-based trust!

(Even if all the employees at that moment are from the same task-based trust culture).

This investment will pay dividends!

So how do you invest?

1. Show your non-professional self and get to really know people around you. If you show the “authentic you”, your colleagues will for sure show you their authentic selves. Which would lead to working and understand each other better.

2. ?Choose your communication medium carefully and communicate honestly and openly. Talking face-to face is the best way to build trust, followed by a video meeting, then telephone talks, with e-mail and WhatsApp at the very end of trust-building form of communication.

Extra tip: pay particular attention to your non-verbal cues and tone while face to-face or online meeting and make sure your e-mails and DM’s ?are professional, yet understandable and friendly

3. Keep your promises. An easy way to build trust is to do what you say. If you know you can't do something because you lack the know-how or time, be honest and direct with your teammate so that you don't over-promise and under-deliver.

4. Admit your mistakes and shortcomings. Admitting you are wrong and being willing to work on it to come up with a better solution shows integrity and authenticity. They lead to trust.

5. Help others. Being kind and helpful lets your colleagues know they can trust you.

Sounds simple, and yet it take time and effort. But as I said, this investment will pay out: trust is the key to connecting people to the organisation.

As Seth Godin "ultimate entrepreneur", author, blogger said:

"Earn trust, earn trust, earn trust. Then you can worry about the rest".

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