To be effective, leaders need their team’s trust. But how do you get that trust — and how do you get it back if you’ve lost it? Three behaviors are essential.
The first is to create positive relationships on your team. There are a number of ways to do this, including: helping employees cooperate, resolving conflicts between others, giving honest feedback, and checking in with people about their concerns.
The second behavior is to demonstrate expertise and judgment. People are more likely to trust you if they believe you have technical know-how and the experience to make good decisions about the team’s work.
The last behavior is to be consistent. You must do what you say you will do. Follow through on your commitments and keep any promises you make. You don’t need to be perfect at these three behaviors to be a trusted leader — but you do need to be good at them.
Adapted from “The 3 Elements of Trust,” by Jack Zenger and Joseph Folkman