My Tips on Getting an Already Established Team to Trust You

Whether you have acquired a stable business with a solid team behind it or have been promoted within your current company to be a leader, you are now faced with a new challenge – leading an already established team. The team will already have its own needs and expectations, and now it is on you to get them to trust you as their leader. This can be a significant feat and lead to you working extremely hard for the first few months to ensure you develop a strong foundation between all of you.?

So, no matter what boat you are in, here are my tips for getting an already-established team to trust you.?

1. Take Time for Them to Meet You and for You to Meet Them

Your first task should be getting to know all of them. Trust can only be formed with a relationship to build upon. As you take over a leadership role, spend some time getting to know your team members one-on-one and as a group so you can not only learn who they are, their strengths and weaknesses, skill sets, and opinions, but they can also learn about you. This allows both parties to learn, ask questions, and grow more comfortable with the new arrangement.?

2. Establish Boundaries and Expectations?

Next, you want to establish boundaries and expectations, not just for them but also for yourself. Expectations of roles, goals, and communication can ensure everyone is on the same page about what will happen moving forward. Setting clear guidelines for everyone involved can create a shared experience and show that you are on their side. Additionally, boundaries are essential to help everyone understand their roles and responsibilities by providing organizational structure.?

3. Provide Sincerity and Reliability?

To build trust with your new team, you must demonstrate sincerity and reliability. You can show sincerity by openly communicating, actively listening, seeking feedback, owning up to your mistakes, and taking the time to implement changes based on your team's opinions and input. Additionally, reliability goes hand in hand with sincerity, as your team will see that you care about their views and are there for them when they need you. Communicating, following up, and utilizing an open-door policy can show reliability.?

4. Demonstrate Transparency and Communication?

Transparency is an essential trait for every leader to hone, especially when it comes to gaining the trust of a new team. You want to be transparent about processes, challenges, or issues you or the company might face. This transparency shows your team that you care about their input and inclusion. Communication follows this. When you demonstrate that you are transparent and have strong communication skills, your team will follow along and see that it is welcome and safe to be the same way. As a leader, you want to demonstrate how to communicate within the team so they can learn and adopt those traits.?

5. Lead With an Open Mind?

My last tip is to remember that they were here first. Your team knows the organization’s needs, processes, and inner workings better than anyone, and as you take on the role of their leader, ensure you are leading with an open mind to what they have to say. You might know three ways to do a project, but there might be an even better fourth way they have been doing it. In that situation, you want to listen, learn, and adapt. Just as much as they can learn from you, you can learn from them.?

Building trust within an already established team won’t happen overnight. It takes time and dedication, but it can be done. If you have further questions or wish to become a more decisive leader, message me!