The Trust Factor
What’s the level of TRUST you have for the people you deal with on a day-to-day basis?What about the level of trust between you and your Leader, or you and your co-workers? Even if we don’t consciously think about it, we are always evaluating the people we interact with personally and professionally. Since we spend a big chunk of our day at work, here are six things we can do to assure we’re building successful and healthy relationships.
First, it’s important to understand WHY we need trust. Trust is a critical part of any interaction, it starts with open communication, honesty, vulnerability, and respect from all individuals involved. When there is mutual trust in a relationship it creates better communication, better collaboration, and if you are part of a team it leads to positive morale and better performance.
Trust is built through our own actions, and it doesn’t have to be complicated. See how many boxes you can check and how many you need to work on:
- Be Dependable – Show up on time and be reliable, when you say you’re going to do something, fol-low through and do it.
- Be Honest – Simply put, ALWAYS tell the truth. If you messed up, own it and learn from it.
- Effectively Communicate – When you are sending a text or email be mindful of your tone, be profession-al and keep it simple, if the matter is too complicated to write, set up a meeting. In any face-to-face in-teraction, again watch your tone of voice and your body language, both can send the wrong message.
- Interact with your Co-workers – Get to know the people you work with, be interested in who they are personally and professionally. Use small talk to ask questions about someone’s family or their weekend plans. Getting to know your team-mates outside of work shows you genuinely care, and it comes full circle, helping you to work better together.
- Acknowledge the Strengths of Co-Workers – Everyone is hired for a reason, whether it’s experience or knowledge. When you need expert advice on a project or help with a task, seek out the co-worker who is an expert in that area. Share your appreciation with them and offer to help them in return. work com-pleted.
- Participate in TEAM – Explore ways to interact with coworkers each day, whether it is during meetings or outside activities. LISTEN when someone is talking, brainstorm for solutions and accept feedback as a gift.
Whether you want to be a successful employee or effective leader, building trust with others is imperative to success, but it doesn’t happen overnight, so be patient. When you are intentional about wanting to build trust, your actions will speak loud and clear and the goal is your co-workers will be confident in your abilities and be motivated to work with you.
