Verified by 
Trust is a critical ingredient for high performing teams and organizations. It reduces friction and fear in a work environment.
When high levels of trust exist, people aren’t constantly looking over their shoulder wondering if someone on their team has their back or not. People can speak directly and candidly. They can share mistakes and challenges and learn from them more quickly. People can effectively coordinate their actions and make better decisions together.
In high trust environments, there is simply less wasted effort spent on managing other people’s egos — leaving more energy to solve problems and get “real” work done.
While trust is critically important, I’ve found it is often in short supply in most organizations. Some studies suggest that less than half of employees have a high degree of trust in their company. This has profound implications for the amount of fear and wasted effort that is likely happening beneath the surface in organizations.
And leaders in these low-trust organizations may be blind to this tenuous state of trust, dismiss its importance, or simply feel powerless to do anything about it.
I see leaders consistently befuddled by trust. This may be because some components of trust don’t neatly match up with the mental models people have about effective leadership
Here are four ideas I would suggest leaders consider when trying to improve trust in their environment.
Idea #1 – Focus on being “effective” rather than being “right”
In many low trust environments, I see leaders trying desperately to be right or to have all the answers. This erodes trust because it is difficult for others to feel trust when they feel they are made “wrong."
In one meeting I attended recently in a large corporation (where the level of trust was known to be low), the most senior leader in a meeting of 20 people was challenging the perspectives of the other people in the meeting and offering his own view on a way forward.
At one level, this is a normal and good thing. The leader was challenging the group to make more effective decisions. How this is done matters, though.
At another level, the leader was unwittingly eroding trust. The reason for this was that people were sensing his need to be “right." The subtle signal he conveyed was that only one person could be right in this conversation…and it was him.
In the leader’s mind, he had to be “right” in order to do his job effectively and to be trusted by the group. In others’ minds, they sensed a person whose ego needed to be managed.
What to do about this? One option is to shift your own mindset or thought process from “I’m only trusted when I’m right” to “I’m trusted when I’m effective with others."
So, ask yourself — “How can I be effective in this situation?” Deeper reflection on this question can bring a range of insights for a leader.
For the leader above, in particular, the insight was clear. He really wanted the team to be more thoughtful and thorough when suggesting how a critical project should move forward. Simply asserting his point of view was not an effective approach in this situation. What was more effective for him was to release his need to be “right” and ask people better questions.
For yourself, notice when you may be feeling an urge to be “right” or to “win” in a given situation. What other choices can you make? What action will allow you to be effective?
Idea #2 – Focus on “respectful candor” rather than “being liked”
Other leaders I work with have a different pattern. They crave approval from those with whom they work. They hold an implicit assumption that if people approve of them as a leader, then trust will be high in the group.
Unfortunately, trust never seems to work that way. The leader who seeks approval can unknowingly send signals to their co-workers and employees that any disagreement or sign of discord is not allowed.
Teams with this kind of dynamic tend to be superficially nice to each other, even when individuals may be holding all kinds of fear and discord within themselves. The unspoken rule on these teams is that it is not safe to do anything that might cause an upset for others, especially the leader.
The way out of this dynamic as a leader is to first notice your own desire for approval and how it may be driving your communication patterns with your team. Are you or others withholding potentially upsetting information or avoiding difficult conversations?
Next, take some small steps to communicate in a more open, candid way. Share some of that information that you’ve been withholding. Have that difficult conversation.
Idea #3 – Express yourself
People often claim that they don’t feel it is appropriate to be “emotional” in the workplace. At one level, this makes entire sense. Being “emotional” can mean having uncontrolled emotions that make other people uncomfortable and can cause others to question someone’s self-control and reliability. This is not conducive to building trust.
At the same time, having little to no emotional expression is counter to building trust as well. Trust among people relies on a degree of vulnerability and candor. Vulnerability and candor rely on a degree of emotional expression.
One way through this conundrum is to build a habit of putting words to your emotions at work. When you can express an emotion in words, it accomplishes two things. First, it can lessen the charge that emotion has on you. Second, it helps other people feel more connected to you as a human being.
We all experience emotions. It’s good to know people at work experience the same things we do — especially people in leadership positions.
At the start of certain meetings, for instance, share what’s going on for you and invite others to share as well. “I’m just feeling a bit down today because my aunt isn’t feeling well.” “I have some disappointment right now. I was hoping our numbers for last quarter would be higher than they turned out.”
Hopefully, you get the idea. Emotions can be expressed constructively at work. The key here is to own your emotions. For instance, saying “I feel sad because…” is much more effective than claiming “You made me upset…”.
Try some small experiments in meetings with supportive colleagues.
Idea #4 – Start with self-acceptance
Finally, consider how important acceptance of yourself can be to building trust with others. The root cause of most trust issues in a work setting is that one or more people feel negatively judged.
Judgment wrecks trust. And for many people, the harshest judge we face is ourselves.
Be kind to yourself and see if you can quiet that judge inside you for a moment. You don’t need to be “right” or “liked” or “non-emotional”…or anything extraordinary. You have everything you need already to be trusted. Start there.
