Team engagement and strong culture requires trust both laterally and vertically in business relationships. How many times have you heard, "people leave bosses not companies"? The inner workings of how we connect day in and day out makes a huge difference in being able to move swiftly, create momentum and produce a quality product.
How does trust happen? It's not by accident...
Here are 3 ways you can cultivate trust
Extend Trust - Treat trust as a verb. Micromanaging, and adding rules, layers, and checkboxes are signs we are not extending trust. Extending trust requires some faith and creating opportunities to prove competence and character as this behavior grows and develops.
Talk Straight - The more we interact across the organization, with leaders and with our direct reports the better we should be at talking straight. Talking straight helps reduce the growth of chatter that occurs when our team feels unsure about what is going on. Straight talk is respectful and speaks the truth. Read the book Radical Candor by Kim Scott.
Clarify Expectations - What needs to be done is expressed upfront. Ask clarifying questions to make sure there is no ambiguity. Encourage open and honest discussion and valuable questions. Don't surprise people with expectations you haven't expressed.
Others you might add to this list; Respect, Transparency, Listen, Deliver, Keep Getting Better...
There are many intentional ways to develop and maintain trust.
Shout out to the team players I have worked with; John Stoker, Susan Bagnoli, James Davis, Jeff England, Travis Reader, Torey Duncan, and Kevin Dixon.
We demonstrated trust every day and frequently commented on how fortunate we are to always know we have each other's backs.
