Three steps towards earning the trust of your subordinates

Mutual trust pays a key role in the relationship between a manager and their employees. A team leader must trust their subordinates are good at what they do and leave them enough space for their own initiative. On the other hand, employees must also trust the manager knows what they are doing, that they represent the team effectively before senior management and their judgement can be relied upon. How do you earn the long-term trust of your employees? Here are three tips on how it is done.

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Taking on responsibility

A good and responsible manager does not use senior management and their decision making as a pretext. They do not blame anybody else for their own mistakes and they do not use such expressions as: “There is nothing I can do about this. These are the rules.” Even if company management makes an unpopular decision, the manager is able to provide the team with a sufficiently clear explanation of it. The manager represents senior management in front of the regular company employees and their somehow opposing management would only make the team doubt the abilities of the company's entire leadership.

Keeping the big picture in mind

Though rules must be adhered to, a good leader whom the employees trust also sees the broader picture and does not insist on pedantically maintaining certain processes even when these no longer make sense. An inspiring manager who provides supports for their employees is not conservative; they are prepared to change their approach and they always keep the bigger picture in mind.

Reliability and predictability

Keeping one's word is a sign of professionalism in a manager. If the leader promises something, everyone around them should know they will keep their word. Unfortunately, such trustworthiness can be irrevocably damaged even by minor oversights. This is why you need to pay attention to detail and keep all the promises, no matter how small, you make to subordinates; otherwise, you will not be able to build the necessary trust with your team members.

 

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Article source Harvard Business Review - flagship magazine of Harvard Business School
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