#teamtrust: 3 pits every leader should avoid falling into

I was listening to a podcast recently where the interviewee (Pastor Michael Todd) said:

"Trust is lost in bucket loads but gained back in drops".

What a concise way of emphasising how quickly trust can be lost, yet how much effort (and how long) it takes to earn it back! It really struck a chord with me and made me think about how we need to be mindful of this as leaders, especially because getting results through teamwork relies on trust based relationships. If we cannot trust each other to do our work as and when required, whether we are being watched or not, then we cannot expect to get meaningful results.

So how do we build these trust based relationships with our team members? Read on! Here is what not to do!

Don't make promises or commitments you have no intention of keeping.

Always check your intention before you do make a commitment, ask yourself:

• Why am I doing this?

• What do I want to achieve by doing this?

• Am I being true to my values?

If you keep letting your team members down you are demonstrating that you are unreliable, and that will erode trust over time.

Don't throw your team members under the bus!

There is nothing more demoralising and treacherous than abdicating responsibility when your team makes a mistake. Decisively take ownership and have an open conversation with your team members about what went wrong, how it can be remedied and what safeguards can be implemented to prevent a recurrence.

Be sincere and unselfish when giving feedback

When you need to give difficult feedback, avoid the temptation to put it off or worse still to not tell the truth. Rather than telling a team member they did a good job when they did not, point out where they could have done better so that they have an opportunity to correct their work and learn from the experience.

Remember that trust binds a team together and creates a foundation which will support Interactions based on sincerity, certainty and respect.

Do your part to build and nurture these interactions by being genuine, consistent and transparent as a team leader.

#youvegotthis