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Abstract

& thank you.</p><p id="2a90">I worked with a CEO who would ignore everyone in the lift, not answering when they said good morning. His rudeness meant no one respected him.</p><p id="311c">It’s not rocket science. Good manners and politeness show respect.</p><p id="936a">Show trust by allowing your team to be autonomous. Never be tempted to micromanage, as that says loud and clear that you don’t trust your team at all.</p><p id="8eff">If you believe your team members are always trying to do a good job and back them up if they need you, that goes a long way toward building trust.</p><h2 id="0540">Empower & Delegate</h2><p id="292d">Give your team stretch projects and growth opportunities, like letting your team take turns running the show when you are on leave.</p><p id="f09e">If you believe in your team and provide them with challenging work, they will likely flourish.</p><p id="1d34">Give your team as much responsibility as possible.</p><p id="7f44">Remember the guy in the lift who never said good morning? He also took away the right for senior employees to sign off expenses. Every month, we had to account for every printed page in color.</p><p id="7a57">This took away autonomy, involved a lot of red tape, and annoyed everyone.</p><blockquote id="e630"><p>“A team is not a group of people who work together. A team is a group of people who trust each other.” — <a href="https://simonsinek.com/">Simon Sinek</a></p></blockquote><h2 id="36c2">Build strong relationships with your team</h2><p id="29a0">Relationship building takes time, so you have to put the effort in.</p><p id="36d3">You need top-notch listening skills to do this, so check whether you’ve got them by asking people. If work colleagues are too polite to tell you the truth, ask your family.</p><p id="3d38">If the feedback could be better, you can learn listening skills here.</p><p id="14de">Building relationships requires excellent communication from your end as well as listening skills. Give clear instructions with details and deadlines. Ensure your team knows if they are doing well or need to change something.</p><p id="48dd">Listening & communicating well is a great start, but at work, people want to be treated like a whole person, not a worker bee, so practice showing empathy with your team.</p><p id="6fb0">Get to know your team members as people. Ask about their lives and what they like to do in their spare time. What do they love, and what do they hate? What motivates them, and what bores them?</p><p id="e4f6">And remember, you can always ask for feedback on your leadership style.</p><p id="2dc2">Is it too formal or informal?</p><p id="b3c7">Does your team get to see you too much or not enough?</p><p id="f335">Are you available when they need you?</p><p id="d9d1">If you continuously build solid relationships with your team, you’ll eventually build trust and respect.</p><h2 id="7120">Be consistent & fair</h2><p id="ba7f">Team members are always attuned to how fair you are as a leader, so make sure you don’t play favorites, even if you prefer some team members to others on a personal level.</p><p id="06e3">Ensure everyone in your team knows about any training, exciting projects, or growth opportunities. Avoid making assumptions about who wants development or who is available to travel for training. Make opportunities available to everyone by simply asking.</p><p id="43ef">Share any dull work evenly between the team so no one does all the tedious jobs.</p><p id="1f0b">Be

Options

consistent around holding one-on-one meetings and who you go to lunch with, and remember to include everyone, not just the people you like.</p><h1 id="01d9">Summary</h1><p id="dcc7">It takes time and effort to build trust & respect, and you have to earn it.</p><p id="8cf1">Your title alone doesn’t guarantee your team’s trust, and it shouldn’t.</p><blockquote id="2932"><p>“Contrary to what most people believe, trust is not some soft, illusive quality that you either have or you don’t; rather, trust is a pragmatic, tangible, actionable asset that you can create.” — Stephen Covey</p></blockquote><p id="62c0">Leading by example, trusting your team, empowering, delegating, working on building relationships, and being consistent and fair are what good leaders do instinctively.</p><p id="b860">If you think about the great leaders you’ve had, you’ll likely find they demonstrated all of the above behaviors.</p><p id="9ecd">Thanks for reading, and have a great day :-)</p><p id="9da7">To get free weekly tips about leadership, training, time-management & team building straight to your inbox click <a href="https://artisanal-inventor-759.ck.page/74f7d108ff">here</a>. You’ll also get a free 26-page e-book, The New Leaders Starter Kit about running One-to-Ones, conducting Constructive Feedback sessions & professional listening skills — also contains printable one-to-one and feedback forms and a listening skills checklist.</p><div id="775d" class="link-block"> <a href="https://medium.datadriveninvestor.com/why-letting-your-team-make-mistakes-is-a-good-idea-8b152d26f699"> <div> <div> <h2>Why Letting Your Team Make Mistakes is a Good Idea</h2> <div><h3>It’s human nature to make mistakes</h3></div> <div><p>medium.datadriveninvestor.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/0*vv9hmpcXbiT_Y59k)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div><div id="b8af" class="link-block"> <a href="https://medium.datadriveninvestor.com/12-signs-of-a-micromanager-the-effect-on-the-team-what-to-do-instead-c05cd05bf0f4"> <div> <div> <h2>12 Signs of a Micromanager, The Effect on The Team & What to Do Instead</h2> <div><h3>Unless you want to demotivate your team and suck the autonomy right out of them</h3></div> <div><p>medium.datadriveninvestor.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/0*h34hsM4-d_sS4TWV)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div><div id="0e83" class="link-block"> <a href="https://medium.datadriveninvestor.com/twenty-signs-of-workplace-burnout-and-what-to-do-about-it-63f0f2b3d876"> <div> <div> <h2>Twenty Signs of Workplace Burnout and What to Do About It</h2> <div><h3>Workplace stress & physical exhaustion aren’t pretty!</h3></div> <div><p>medium.datadriveninvestor.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/0*ObcK4MydRssUMaFg)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div></article></body>

5 Ways to Earn the Trust & Respect of Your Team

It doesn’t happen overnight, but you can do it if you know how

The Monday Morning Manager Series #46

Thankfully, the days of people leaping off ladders into the arms of their waiting colleagues are over.

All that leaping & jumping was far too stressful for everyone involved, especially when no one caught the CEO, and he landed on his back with a huge wallop.

The manager in charge of the team that dropped the CEO was utterly traumatized, convinced his career was over.

I’m sure that wouldn’t be allowed nowadays.

Another trust-related activity I remember from the 90s involved putting blindfolds on the 300 managers and getting them to wander around a massive hall with their arms out to see who they would bump into.

You wouldn’t get away with that either these days, and a good job too.

I’m an extrovert, and even I was not too fond of these activities, it must have severely upset any introverts or people that dislike being touched.

But don’t panic.

If you want to earn the trust and respect of your team, there are much easier and less touchy-feely ways to do so.

“The glue that holds business relationships together, that is trust, and this trust is purely based on integrity.” — Brian Tracy

5 Ways to build trust

Lead by example

Many years ago, I managed a store opposite Marks & Spencers on Oxford Street, so I’d nip over to their epic food hall to pick up my lunch.

Another daily plus was the Hare Krishnas, who would come past the shop every day, singing & chanting.

I was young, and everything in the world was bright & promising.

Except when the homeless people came in and peed in the changing rooms.

Cleaning up someone else’s pee is over and above a sales assistant’s job description, so I would clean it up.

Not always, but enough to show that I was willing to get my hands dirty too.

I still made many mistakes as a leader — remember, I was very young — but I did try.

Setting a good example is part of a leader’s role, and that includes:

Demonstrating a good work ethic
Keeping your word
Admitting your mistakes
Be authentic & transparent
Taking responsibility
Being approachable & open

“Trust is the highest form of human motivation. It brings out the very best in people.” — Stephen Covey

Respect & Trust your team

If you want trust and respect from your team, you have to trust & respect them too.

You can show respect by always having good manners, for example, saying good morning and goodnight, telling the team where you are, and saying please & thank you.

I worked with a CEO who would ignore everyone in the lift, not answering when they said good morning. His rudeness meant no one respected him.

It’s not rocket science. Good manners and politeness show respect.

Show trust by allowing your team to be autonomous. Never be tempted to micromanage, as that says loud and clear that you don’t trust your team at all.

If you believe your team members are always trying to do a good job and back them up if they need you, that goes a long way toward building trust.

Empower & Delegate

Give your team stretch projects and growth opportunities, like letting your team take turns running the show when you are on leave.

If you believe in your team and provide them with challenging work, they will likely flourish.

Give your team as much responsibility as possible.

Remember the guy in the lift who never said good morning? He also took away the right for senior employees to sign off expenses. Every month, we had to account for every printed page in color.

This took away autonomy, involved a lot of red tape, and annoyed everyone.

“A team is not a group of people who work together. A team is a group of people who trust each other.” — Simon Sinek

Build strong relationships with your team

Relationship building takes time, so you have to put the effort in.

You need top-notch listening skills to do this, so check whether you’ve got them by asking people. If work colleagues are too polite to tell you the truth, ask your family.

If the feedback could be better, you can learn listening skills here.

Building relationships requires excellent communication from your end as well as listening skills. Give clear instructions with details and deadlines. Ensure your team knows if they are doing well or need to change something.

Listening & communicating well is a great start, but at work, people want to be treated like a whole person, not a worker bee, so practice showing empathy with your team.

Get to know your team members as people. Ask about their lives and what they like to do in their spare time. What do they love, and what do they hate? What motivates them, and what bores them?

And remember, you can always ask for feedback on your leadership style.

Is it too formal or informal?

Does your team get to see you too much or not enough?

Are you available when they need you?

If you continuously build solid relationships with your team, you’ll eventually build trust and respect.

Be consistent & fair

Team members are always attuned to how fair you are as a leader, so make sure you don’t play favorites, even if you prefer some team members to others on a personal level.

Ensure everyone in your team knows about any training, exciting projects, or growth opportunities. Avoid making assumptions about who wants development or who is available to travel for training. Make opportunities available to everyone by simply asking.

Share any dull work evenly between the team so no one does all the tedious jobs.

Be consistent around holding one-on-one meetings and who you go to lunch with, and remember to include everyone, not just the people you like.

Summary

It takes time and effort to build trust & respect, and you have to earn it.

Your title alone doesn’t guarantee your team’s trust, and it shouldn’t.

“Contrary to what most people believe, trust is not some soft, illusive quality that you either have or you don’t; rather, trust is a pragmatic, tangible, actionable asset that you can create.” — Stephen Covey

Leading by example, trusting your team, empowering, delegating, working on building relationships, and being consistent and fair are what good leaders do instinctively.

If you think about the great leaders you’ve had, you’ll likely find they demonstrated all of the above behaviors.

Thanks for reading, and have a great day :-)

To get free weekly tips about leadership, training, time-management & team building straight to your inbox click here. You’ll also get a free 26-page e-book, The New Leaders Starter Kit about running One-to-Ones, conducting Constructive Feedback sessions & professional listening skills — also contains printable one-to-one and feedback forms and a listening skills checklist.