Trust. You cannot have a healthy relationship without it. To think about how important trust really is, I am sure all of us can bring to mind a scenario where our trust has been broken. How do we develop trust in the first place? Can trust that has been broken be rebuilt?
Relationships in the workplace are all important to the productivity of a team. Without trust, those relationships have no foundation and quickly crumble.
Carthage Buckley is a stress and performance coach with over ten years of international experience. She has made some fantastic suggestions as to how you can build trust:
1. Be true to your word and follow through with your actions
The whole point of building trust is for others to believe you when you say that you will do something. Keep in mind, however, that part of building trust is not only keeping promises that you make, but also to stay away from committing to promises that you are not able to keep.
Furthermore, if you always keep your word, this shows others what you expect and they will be prone to treating you with the same respect – developing further trust in the process.
2. Learn how to effectively communicate with others
Poor communication skills are the main reason why relationships break down. This includes being clear about what you have or have not committed to – that is, what has been agreed upon. Building trust is not without risk. It involves allowing others the chance to prove that they are trustworthy and for you, taking the chances to show that you are also trustworthy.
Effective communication is the key – because sometimes the message that you set out to send may not be the message that is received.
3. Remind yourself that it takes time to build and earn trust
Building trust is a daily commitment. Don’t make the mistake of expecting too much too soon. In order to build trust, make small steps and take on small commitments and then, as trust grows, you will be more at ease with making and accepting bigger commitments. Put trust in. You will generally get trust in return.
4. Take time to make decisions and think before acting too quickly
Only make commitments that you are happy to agree to. Have the courage to say “no” – even though someone else may be disappointed. If you agree to something and can’t follow through, this would be worse for everyone.
Be clear about what you have on your plate, and also know exactly what you are committed to. Being organized is a necessary part of building trust with family, friends, and colleagues. It enables you to make a clear decision as to whether you take on or decline the requests you may receive.
5. Value the relationships that you have – and don’t take them for granted
A large part of trust is the result of consistency. We tend to have the most trust in people who are there for us consistently through the good times and the bad. Consistently showing that you are there for someone will be an effective way to build trust.
6. Develop your team skills and participate openly
When you take an active part in a team and make contributions, people are more likely to respect and trust you. It is imperative when building trust within a team to show your willingness to trust others.
Being open and willing to make contributions demonstrates this. When building trust, it is important to engage. In other words, you take what others say into consideration, show that you are listening actively, suggest your thoughts and feedback respectfully and demonstrate that you are willing to be part of the team.
7. Always be honest
The message you convey should always, always be the truth. If you are caught out telling a lie, no matter how small, your trustworthiness is diminished.
8. Help people whenever you can
By helping another person, even if it provides no benefit to you, this allows you to experience the indirect benefit of improved trust. Authentic kindness helps to build trust.
9. Don’t hide your feelings
Being open about your emotions can be a very effective way to build trust. Furthermore, if people know that you care, they are more likely to trust you.
Emotional Intelligence plays a role in building trust. By acknowledging your feelings, learning the lessons that prevail and taking productive action, means that you don’t deny reality – this is the key to building trust.
10. Don’t always self-promote
Recognizing the efforts of others and showing your appreciation shows your talent for leadership and teamwork, and therefore enables you to build trust. On the other hand, if someone doesn’t demonstrate their appreciation for a good deed, they appear selfish. Selfishness destroys trust.
Acknowledgment and appreciation play an important role in building trust and maintaining good relationships.
11. Always do what you believe to be right
If you act simply to seek approval, you automatically sacrifice your own values and beliefs. This means that you don’t trust yourself, or your values and your beliefs. By always doing what you believe is right, even when others disagree, they will respect your honesty.
Interestingly, when building trust, you do need to be willing to occasionally upset others. People will not trust those who simply say whatever it is that they think others want to hear.
12. Admit your mistakes
When you attempt to hide your mistakes, people know that you are being dishonest.
By being open – after all, everyone makes mistakes – you show your vulnerable side, and this helps build trust with other people. This is because they perceive you to be more like them.
If you pretend that you don’t make mistakes, you make it harder for another person to trust you because you have created an unnecessary difference between the two of you. When all that a person sees is the “perfection” you project – they will not trust you.
