As a business leader, you likely want your employees to trust and listen to you. Building trust is complicated and takes dedicated time and effort to earn. No matter how hard you are trying to build trust, there are some behaviors that can make employees lose that trust quickly. Here are behaviors you should avoid to keep employee trust:
Blaming Others
Everyone hates being blamed for something they didn’t do and that feeling only gets worse when you’re blamed by a leader. When something goes wrong, carefully evaluate your role in the situation. Make sure you aren’t removing responsibility from yourself and putting it on others. Take responsibility and hold yourself accountable for your mistakes.
Lack of Transparency
Most people hate having secrets kept from them, especially about their work. Always provide your employees with the information they need to operate well in their jobs. Also, take the time to share company success, goals, and failures so your employees feel included.
Not Recognizing Success
Your employees work hard and want to see their hard work recognized. If you don’t give employees recognition for a job well done, they will mistrust your judgement and your appreciation of them. Take time to give employees positive feedback in public and in private to ensure they know you appreciate their work.
Being Underprepared
While there are times when you end up unprepared for something, being consistently underprepared gives the impression that you don’t care. If you are showing up to employee trainings or evaluations underprepared more often than not, your employees will feel like you aren’t invested in their success. Set aside time to ensure you are prepared for meetings with your employees.
Gaining and keeping employee trust is a worthwhile effort to improve your work environment. Follow these tips to make sure you aren’t losing employee trust.