Build Trust and Be Transparent

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The Fourth annual Ethics and Workplace Survey published by Deloitte found that over one third of Americans will be looking for a new job in the coming year. And of this disgruntled group, the key issues that are driving turnover are a lack of trust and lack of transparency.   These results reinforce the value of building trust with your employees through transparent and open communication.  What employees are looking for, especially in times of change and turmoil, is senior leadership that they can trust.

But what is trust?

Trust is a bit like oxygen; when it is available things run smoothly and you hardly notice it, but when you remove it, you can’t get anything done.   At its most basic level, Trust is the confidence people have that you will predictably act in their best interest, never knowingly committing actions that might harm them.  There is no single activity that will build trust, rather you establish trust over time by consistently exhibiting a number of behaviors and values.  Here is my list of the top 10 trust-building behaviors for leaders:

  1. Demonstrate integrity.
  2. Act consistently with your words.
  3. Communicate with truth and candor.
  4. Hold yourself accountable
  5. Provide honest feedback.
  6. Listen to others with an open mind.
  7. Be consistent, keep promises.
  8. Encourage others to communicate openly.
  9. Consider how your actions impact others.
  10. Admit mistakes and take blame.

1 comment

  • FANTASTIC post! It takes a mountain of good to build solid trust- but 1 minuscule thing to tear it all down. Such a rarity these days it seems.

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