Building a Foundation of Trust, Part 3 of 5

Part 3 of 5

Trust is a valuable commodity to have in our personal and professional lives.  This is part 3 of 4 in the series: Maintain Constructive Relationships.  You can begin the series here.

Basic Principle 3: Maintain Constructive Relationships

Leaders need to set the example.  We have all heard it before, that is nothing new. In everything we do it is about relationships. Leaders must reach out to their team members especially during times of change or uncertainty.  People want and need to know what is happening so they know what they are doing is making a difference.  When an organization is coming together and producing in a more streamlined fashion, the old way of communication is blurred.  Cross utilization of teams is growing.  People are doing more than one job that belongs to more than more manager. It is up to the leadership to foster effective communication within everyone to everyone within the organization.

One of the first things that need to be accomplished here is to help the team establish updated lines of communication within the organization. Communication is essential within any organization.  Without it, ideas are lost, concepts lay alone on someone’s desk or email. The goal here is to pull everyone together and discover what their needs are to move the organization forward. The old way of doing business may be just that “the old way.”  We must identify new processes, new relationships where offices within the organization may have never communicated directly.  Help set the tone for success.

Next, we need to encourage cooperation with other teams. We touched on this in Part 2 of the series. Evite other teams to join other team meetings. Help each other understand processes especially in times of flux or growth.  This helps foster trust because both teams have a better understanding of what is required by the other team. Ideas may grow from this collaboration and the process improves upon itself. The teams understand what is needed and what should be given to foster growth and trust. Everyone wins in this case.

This is key in building a foundation of trust.  Ensure that the team understands from the customer’s perspective. The customer does not care on the what, the who, or the how the company works.  All they want is a good value for the product at a fair price and that the product works…period. Customers want value, value, value.  Provide that value and you will earn the customers trust.

Finally, leaders need to encourage and value a diverse input and perspectives from within the team. Everyone has value to bring to the organization. The diversity that lives within the organization must be valued and given a platform.  If everyone listens to understand and not listen to respond or just argue the other viewpoint away, then the organization can be enriched and grow tremendously.

We spend roughly one-third of our day in the workplace.  Some people even say they are married to their job.  We, in fact, have relationships with everyone in the workplace.  Some are better than others and more communication is made among them.  Zig Ziglar said, “many marriages would be better if the husband and wife clearly understood that they are on the same side.”  Leaders should foster constructive relationships for the team.  When the team wins, everyone wins.