4 Big Reasons Why Building Trust Makes You a More Effective Leader
Imagine a team that works seamlessly together, with constant communication and collaboration at the center of it all. It would be an ideal scenario for any leader. The key ingredient to this is trust. Trust is at the foundation of high-performing, positive result-driving teams in any retail scenario. This is the key to sustained, long-term success. It is hard to do and maintain at all times. The question you have to ask yourself is: can you afford not to dedicate yourself to investing in the power of trust as a leader?
The Harvard Business Review reported that teams with high levels of trust outperform low-trust teams by 50% in terms of collaboration, creativity, and overall productivity.
1. Increase Engagement
At the core of engagement is trust. What is the power of engagement? It is the fuel that drives the engine of your team. I recently shared an article, 6 Essential Factors for Leaders to Build an Engaged, Thriving Team, that details the critical elements of engagement and its power on the team. Trust enables that.
The 2021 Gallup Employee Engagement Survey found that organizations in the top quartile for employee engagement have significantly higher productivity (17% higher), profitability (21% higher), and customer ratings (10% higher) compared to those in the bottom quartile.
You simply cannot ignore the correlation between creating and leading a trusting environment and one that is defined as high engaging. There are inseparable in their partnership.
2. Improved Collaboration
We all like a catchy teamwork phase. Who doesn’t like, "teamwork makes the dream work”? It may seem cliché, but it isn’t wrong. You need people to work together. The sum of the whole, the collective knowledge of the individual parts, will always serve up the best outcomes. Trust fosters that environment to allow for all members of the team, regardless of their role or title, to contribute to the entire team. They do so openly and without fear or concern for status, ranking, acceptance, or bias. This allows for everyone to align and work towards the same goals and vision you have as a leader.
3. Knowledgeable Teams
Maintaining a trusting environment equates to many things. Engagement, collaboration, and enhanced communication all lead to employees wanting to stay. Improved engagement, enhanced communication, and teams working together are already tremendous benefits; the fact that they remain with the team longer (improved retention) their knowledge grows as well. This allows teams to react quickly, be more proactive to begin with, and to provide more data supported options when the need arises. A diverse knowledge base of tenured employees is something every leader desires, and appreciates when they have it. Trust unlocks that.
4. Sustained Positive Results
At the beginning of this article there was mention of the Harvard Business Review study that shows the improvement of collaboration, creativity, and productivity when in a trust-driven environment. Those all translate into results. And in retail, we know that results matter, and they are something everyone is looking at.
The Corporate Leadership Council discovered that organizations with higher levels of employee trust outperform low-trust organizations by 2.5 times in terms of revenue growth.
Well, trust has you covered there too. That translation is two and a half times better results than those that do not have a trusting space. Imagine what that could mean for you, your teams, and your business as a whole.
So, you’ve bought in on trust, and you’re looking for some actions that show trust to your team. Here is a quick list of things you can ensure you’re doing to show trust.
5 Keys to Demonstrating Trust to Your Team
Be Honest and Transparent.
Lead by Example.
Listen with Empathy.
Foster Collaboration and Support.
Keep Promises and Commitments.
Trust cannot and should not be under-estimated. Nor should it ever be taken for granted. You can see the power of trust just in the short information bites above. It is a subject that most people know intuitively, but few fully embrace the importance and need for continual engagement with it. Trust is always being evaluated by everyone around you. It can be lost in the blink of an eye with a seemingly innocent decision. Value it, embrace it, nurture it, and share it. Trust will make a difference in everything you do.
How will you build a culture that builds, values, and reaps the rewards of trust?
Additional Resources
The Speed of Trust — Stephen M.R. Covey
Dare to Lead: Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts. — Brené Brown
TEDTalk: Trust, morality -- and oxytocin? — Paul Zak
The Neuroscience of Trust — Paul Zak
Join other retail leaders in continuing their development journey with Effective Retail Leader.com. SUBSCRIBE today to receive leadership tips directly to your inbox and monthly newsletters that provide many tools to help further develop your leadership skills. JOIN NOW!
Photo by Claudio Schwarz on Unsplash