Trust is a crucial element of a workplace. Its presence can ensure seamless proceedings, while its absence can lead to significant disruptions. Even among remote workers, having trust in team members is essential for the team to function optimally.

Trust-building activities help leaders formulate teams that are motivated, work together seamlessly, and can produce better results together. Additionally, they foster a positive work environment which has a whole set of excellent benefits of its own.

Why does trust in the workplace matter?

Trust in a workplace implies how the workforce appreciates a culture of honesty. It ensures that members know they can count on each other and are always valued. It is important because:

  1. It boosts confidence, as employees aren’t worried about stolen credit or disagreements leading to unnecessary disputes. 
  2. It increases respect, which leads to seamless functioning even in case of disagreements. Proceedings take place smoothly as members trust each other’s intentions. 
  3. It facilitates support, as members trust each other’s capabilities and support each other to achieve the best results. 

In addition to building trust among employees, it is also crucial to establish trust between the leaders and their teams. Trusting leaders enable their workforces to grow, take decisions for themselves, logically leverage the best methods, be accountable, and enhance creativity. It decreases workplace anxiety, improves morale, and reduces turnover rates significantly. All such benefits translate to increased profit and an impeccable market reputation.  

Building trust is important. So, how can leaders do it? In this article, we will talk about the various ways leaders can build trust in a workplace.

  1. Be a Good Listener.

Ask employees to voice their opinions and points of view. Whether you’re a team member or a leader, pay attention to the varying viewpoints as it can cause you to look at things from a different perspective that might prove to be beneficial. Additionally, it demonstrates to your employees that you value their opinions and that their voice matters. As a result, a positive workplace foundation is built that leads to the establishment of trust.

Listening skills can be improved by deliberately putting yourself into situations, either professional or personal, where you have to listen to other people’s ideas or experiences in order to interact. It can help you be a better listener.

  1. Seek Feedback and Act on It. 

As a leader, you must ask for feedback from your employees to find out where you are lacking as a leader. Making feedback anonymous will help you to ensure that your employees answer with pure honesty. As a result, you’ll get concrete action points.

Seeking feedback isn’t enough; you must act on it as well. When employees witness their leaders working on their feedback and visibly make changes, leaders gain their trust. You can gain feedback via questionnaires, surveys, etc.

  1. Appreciate Employees.

Appreciating employees for their achievements is an essential element of building trust in the workplace. Implement employee rewards for certain milestones or simply send messages thanking them for their excellent work. It helps workers know that they are appreciated, their efforts matter, and their leader doesn’t miss out on their hard work. It makes them feel secure, which ultimately causes them to trust their leaders more.

  1. Act as a Coach, Not as a Boss. 

Managers at all levels play a critical role in building trust in a workplace. So, their actions must not reflect the qualities of a typical boss who micromanages and orders employees around. To ensure enterprise-wide trust-building, relevant measures must be ensured at every level.

Focus on coaching and encourage it across the organization. When you coach employees, they pay more attention to your advice and are more likely to place their trust in you. Support them through their training and coach them in areas where they lack.

  1. Be Consistent.

Demonstration of consistency is essential to gain trust. People trust you more when they see you being consistent in every action, whether it is following up on your promises or actions as simple as always showing up on time. Additionally, consistency in your mood also helps. Whether you’re a leader or a team member, consistency in actions will always make you more trustworthy.

  1. Be Inclusive.

Being inclusive is a fantastic strategy to gain the trust of your employees. When you develop a culture of inclusivity and diversity, you demonstrate an appreciation of qualities like teamwork, uniqueness, and creativity irrespective of a person’s background. It shows that your co-workers and subordinates can be comfortable around you. It establishes trust.

As a leader, you can foster a culture of diversity by including it in policies and training employees for diversity education and sensitivity. It will not only help establish trust among employees but also increase it among you and the workforce.

CONCLUSION

Establishing a workplace culture where each employee is valued as an essential asset is vital in today’s business scenarios. Trust-building activities play a crucial role in it. By being a good listener, seeking feedback, acting on responses, appreciating employees, acting as a coach instead of a boss, being consistent, and being inclusive, you can effectively establish trust in the workplace.

Building team trust isn’t an overnight activity; it takes time and consistency in efforts to flourish. Both leaders and employees need to put in efforts in order to ensure team trust. After all, it is an exceptionally important factor in driving morale and retention in a workplace.