Trust is such a nebulous and vague thing when you think about it. Leaders stress trust but studies reveal employees have a lack of trust in their leaders so there is a disconnect. When thinking about trust we have to think about "Trust Building Actions" such as:
- Invest in good things that your employees do.
- Broadcast your employee’s positive impact to upper level management.
- Send a Card or book specific to the employee’s hobby.
- Ask top performers to coach other employees and provide positive feedback as this gives them a taste of leadership.
- Intentionally turn off your phone when starting a coaching session to show your employee you are intent on truly listening.
- Last, always always always tell the truth. Yes, people say they want to hear the truth but in reality many people struggle with hearing the truth. One of the best comments I ever heard about honesty was the following: if you tell the truth you never have to remember what you told someone.
Things That Destroy Trust:
1. Looking at emails when they come in while you are talking to an employee.
2. Peaking at your cell phone when a text comes in
3. Canceling your scheduled coaching sessions too often