Building trust with the people you work with can seem like a daunting task especially if they work remotely. You don’t have to go on a three-day retreat to build trust though.
Trust starts with yourself. Assess your credibility and behavior. Do you have high integrity, honest intent, strong capabilities, and good results? People will look at past experiences with you to see if they really can trust you. Start with those 4 Cores of Credibility before building trust with others.
Then you can build trust with others. Declare your intent to let the other person know you want high confidence in the relationship, and ask for permission to explore how to do it. The next step is to listen first. Ask the person to share three behaviors that are important to him or her that build trust and confidence. Which is most important? Reflect back what you hear.
Following those steps, you must create transparency, keep commitments, and practice accountabilities. These are the behaviors of a high trust relationship. As you practice these steps consistently, you and your coworkers will trust each other.
Leading a team requires a different skillset than working as an individual contributor. To succeed in the face of new challenges, first-level leaders need to shift how they think and act. Sign up for “The Journey: Becoming a First Class Manager”
