Trust is the foundation of every high-performing team. Without it, success is less likely, and with it, results are accelerated. Google’s Project Aristotle study showed that teams with high levels of trust are 12 times more likely to achieve their goals than those with low levels of trust. Building trust with your team becomes possible when you demonstrate effective leadership behaviors. Leadership is less about titles and authority and more about how you show up and the actions you take.
Behaviors that Inspire Trust
Here are eight key behaviors that allow you to influence outcomes, inspire others, and build trust with your team:
- Be Credible: People trust leaders who consistently meet performance standards. Start by understanding what success looks like in your organization and ensuring you’re meeting the standards. Keep your say-do gap narrow—when you make a commitment, honor it with action and follow through. ‘Lead by example’ is timeless advice for a reason: people trust those who demonstrate credibility.
- Show Respect: Respect is the currency of trust—it’s how trust is exchanged, person to person. You demonstrate respect when you take time to fully listen to someone, empower others to lead key initiatives, or share helpful feedback. Equally important to showing respect is addressing any signs of disrespect swiftly and directly. Trust grows not only through what you encourage, but also through what you won’t tolerate within your team.
- Practice Accountability: True leaders seek to take responsibility before they begin to place blame. When you’re willing to own your mistakes, others are more likely to trust you. It’s tempting to explain why something wasn’t your fault when things go off track—but accountability isn’t about blame; it’s about progress. While it can be difficult to own poor results, it’s the first, critical step toward solving problems. Accountability builds the trust needed to navigate and overcome challenges as a team.
- Talk Straight: Be clear and speak with integrity. People can tell when transparency isn’t present. Earn trust by sharing difficult news clearly and resisting any urge to spin or inflate the truth. Say what you mean and mean what you say. This inspires others to bring candor and openness to their exchanges. Harvard Business Review found that employees in high-trust teams are 29% more likely to engage in open communication and collaborate effectively, which leads to higher overall productivity.
- Clarify the Vision: Trust builds when everyone knows the plan. Share what success looks like—clearly, consistently, and continuously. Help your team see how to achieve it and what expectations are for performance. While none of us can predict the future, in today’s complex and ambiguous world, the more clearly you can make the team’s goals and objectives, the more you’ll create alignment and inspire effort toward results.
- Serve First: As leaders, we often have the choice to help ourselves or support others. The more you place the needs of others before your own, the more you’ll build trust. By recognizing and meeting the needs of others, you send a clear message that you’re willing to work hard for your team. That sense of selfless service inspires others to give their discretionary effort — the level of effort people give when they want to go above and beyond.
- Confront Reality: Be honest about the challenges your team is facing. Courage isn’t the absence of fear; it’s your ability to name your fears and move forward in the face of them. When you speak truth to power or share insights on an issue that others are afraid to discuss, you support your team in solving the problems that prevent success.
- Show Appreciation: Teams are effective because people with different talents, strengths, and skills work collaboratively to be better, together. Take time to affirm the specific contributions of the people who work with and around you. When we are seen for our talent and contribution, we build a sense of connection with the people we work with and a sense of pride in the work we do. Acknowledge effort and results with praise, gratitude, and appreciation.
Ultimately, the actions we take determine how effective we are as leaders. When you keep your focus outward on your team members, you put yourself in a great position to build trust. Cultivating trust within your team is one of the most powerful ways to achieve high performance.
Keep leading and keep cultivating trust. When you do, your leadership will make a significant difference.
