How Leaders Earn Trust

5 Important Ways Great Leaders Earn Trust and Respect

By : Expresspros

Difficult to earn and easily lost, trust and respect are two of the most important characteristics of great leadership. Workers look to their leaders for guidance and behavioral cues that influence the way they react to a given situation. So, the trust a workforce has for the people in charge greatly impacts productivity.

In fact, according to the 2017 Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) Employee Job Satisfaction and Engagement Report, 61% of employees said trust in senior management is very important to their job satisfaction. Even more striking, only 33% said they were “very satisfied” with the level of trust in their organization overall.

So, what does it take to earn trust and respect from the people you lead? Check out these five important tips.

Leave the door open

Free and open communication is essential for building trust and respect. Open door policies take many shapes, but fostering an environment where employees feel safe coming to you with workplace concerns, new ideas, or even constructive criticism, shows that you are receptive to and genuinely interested in understanding the situation on the frontlines of your business.

Consistency is key

From how you react to project challenges to how you reprimand individual employees, consistency in your words and actions is a major part of building trust. Inconsistent messages and unpredictable behavior will cause your employees to feel that they can’t depend on you to make fair and honest choices of action in difficult situations.

Get your hands dirty

There are few better ways to build trust and respect than rolling up your sleeves and jumping down into the trenches with your employees. Showing that you aren’t afraid to step out on the front line and get your hands dirty creates a bond through shared experience and reminds your workers that you’ve been there and have personally walked a few miles in their shoes.

Confidence in your decisions

Mental fortitude and resoluteness create confidence among the people you lead that they are following the right person. Wishy-washy decision making and uncertainty when the going gets tough causes doubt, and when the team isn’t fully behind their leader, a breakdown in communication and productivity is sure to follow. 

Share your wisdom

As iron sharpens iron, one person sharpens another—leaders who give willingly of their time and expertise to build up the next generation earn trust and respect from the people they lead. Not only do they set the standard for future leadership, they also leave behind a legacy worth celebrating.

Workforce productivity and success hinges largely on examples set by the people at the top. Building trust doesn’t happen overnight, but the leaders who invest the time to foster a positive working environment based on mutual respect will be rewarded with employees who are more engaged and loyal to their company.