Do they believe you want what’s best for them?
Dave Rosenberg and I talk about this ALL THE TIME on the podcast we co-host, Disarming Persuasion Podcast. If you want to persuade people to follow you, get on board with an initiative, do tasks they aren’t necessarily excited to do, buy something from you, or participate inany other of your hairbrained schemes,THEY HAVE GOT TO TRUST YOU!
They’ve got to believe that you’ve got their best interests at heart. Otherwise they’re going to be suspicious of your intentions, and of what’s going to happen if they put their trust in you.
So how do you build trust? You do it in every single interaction that you have with them. Whether it’s written or with your mouth, virtual or in person. One of the best ways to build trust is to give trust. This puts you in a vulnerable position, which can make you feel exposed, but think about it. That’s what you’re asking them to do! If they’re not seeing it from you, why the heck should they follow suit.
People we lead look to us to see how to behave. Leaders are role models, good or bad, so examine your own behavior.
- Are you trusting them to do their jobs and not micro-managing?
- Are you giving them feedback so they know where they stand?
- Are you emotionally even?
- Do they know what to expect?
- Are you transparent with information?
- Do you reach out for more than just to ask them to do more work?
- Are you appreciative of their efforts?
The workforce today has different expectations of their leaders, and it requires that we are more emotionally intelligent, more communicative, more perceptive and more people-focused. In today’s world of short-staffed-ness, we need our teams to stick around, so look closely at the trust you’re giving to them, and identify ways you can get even stronger. They’ll pay you back in trust, hard work, initiative, engagement and they’ll stick around!
You’ve got this.
