“I wouldn’t ask anyone to do anything that I wouldn’t do myself,” says Indra Nooyi, the former CEO of PepsiCo. Naval Ravikant, an investor and entrepreneur, argues,“look at some of the top roles in society, like why someone is a CEO of a public company or managing billions of dollars. It’s because people trust them.” The concept of building trust as a leader is critical to the success of both the organization and the individual leader. Here are five ways to build trust as a leader:
- Communicate Effectively: The first aspect of building trust in leadership is communicating effectively. Leaders should focus on overcommunicating key ideas in the company rather than under communicating. People often fill in the missing aspects with their own assumptions, and the lack of communication leads to other challenges. By communicating effectively, people feel that the leader has their best interest in mind. How consistently and effectively do you communicate?
- Learn About People: The second characteristic of building trust is to spend time getting to know the people in the organization. The very best leaders are visible in their companies, they greet people, they stop to talk, they ask questions, and they dig deep into feedback. Surface level relationships with people in the organization degrades trust, so highly-effective leaders focus on learning as much as they can. How well do you learn about the people in the organization?
- Allow for Voice: The third way to build trust with people is to allow some voice in how the organization functions. While directives and decisions must be made, leaders can gather feedback on some aspects of the decisions in order to allow voice. People feel heard and cared for when they’re allowed to offer suggestions for improving the functionality of the organization which in turn builds trust with people. How consistently do you allow for voice in the organization?
- Model the Standards: The fourth aspect of building trust is to model the standards and values leaders want in the organization. If effort and hard work are important, then it’s critical the leader models those each day. If the organization focuses on work-life balance, then the leader should avoid actions that fail to align with that value. Each company has its core values, and the leader builds trust through aligning with those. How consistently do your actions align with the core values?
- Deliver Results: The final characteristics of building trust is to deliver results. One of the core duties of any leader is to help drive results for the organization. Highly-effective leaders often spend their entire career compounding positive results, and they’ve built trust by doing that over time. People respect and trust those who have committed their careers to creating positive change. How effectively do you deliver the results necessary for the organization?
Although it’s sometimes overlooked in the details of leadership, building trust is a foundational aspect of highly-effective leadership. Great leaders strategically build trust in the process of delivering results. Leaders should focus on communicating and learning about people while also modeling the values necessary to reach the larger goals of the organization. The strategic plan for building trust is a top priority for results-driven leaders.
How strategically do you build trust with the people you lead?