Trust And Leadership: 4 Proven Practices To Inspire High-Performing Teams

One of the highlights of hosting my “Leadership Biz Cafe” podcast has been the chance to interview Stephen M.R. Covey twice, exploring how successful leaders develop trust within their organizations.

In one episode, Stephen shared a powerful insight about trust and leadership – trust is something we not only earn, but as leaders it’s something we have to extend as well.

How do we extend trust? By recognizing that our role as leaders is to understand, develop, and unleash the hidden potential in each of our employees.

As I share in my keynotes that address trust and leadership, we must learn to see beyond what our employees do to make our jobs easier, and discover what ignites their internal motivational drive to contribute their talents, creativity, and insights to our shared purpose.

Trust is more than a ‘nice to have’. Trust is foundational not only to a leader’s ability to drive organizational performance, but also to helping employees achieve their true potential.

So how can you be a trusting leader and build trust in your team and organization? Here are four practices every leader should embrace:

1. Mirror what you say with what you do

Your team is paying attention to not just what you say but what you do. Being consistent between your words and your actions will build credibility and foster trust.

2. Embrace transparency

Be open in sharing relevant information, as well as the reasoning behind decisions you make. This provides clarity and context, while also reinforcing trust by giving employees an active role in your organization’s purpose.

3. Foster psychological safety by welcoming divergent/opposing viewpoints

Make sure employees feel supported and encouraged to share their unique viewpoints and concerns. Trust is about unleashing their potential, which can only be done if they feel confident in sharing more of themselves.

4. Honour your word

Show your employees you stand by everything you say, no matter how trivial it might seem to you. Extending trust is not about how we see ourselves, but how others see us.

By practicing these measures consistently over time, you’ll build a strong foundation of trust in your leadership that will inspire and empower your team to deliver peak performance in everything they do.