An Easy Way for Leaders to Build Trust

Employee engagement, by one definition, has been described as the emotional commitment an employee has to the organization and its goals.
 
This emotional commitment shows-up as the discretionary effort that employees are willing to give.
 
That is, the above-and-beyond that they’re willing to go, above what’s minimally required.
 
It is determined by the level of trust employees have in leadership.
 
And it is critical.
 
𝘽𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚, 𝙞𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚’𝙨 𝙣𝙤 𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙨𝙩, 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚’𝙨 𝙣𝙤 𝙚𝙣𝙜𝙖𝙜𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙣𝙤 𝙜𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩 𝙘𝙪𝙡𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚.
 
There are any number of pointers for leaders on how to build trust, such as:
 
💠 Being engaged themselves - model the behaviors they want to see
💠 Showing employees that 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 trust 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢
💠 Being transparent and communicating frequently
💠 Inviting employee feedback
💠 Keeping their word
💠 Always having their employees’ backs
💠 Creating an environment where employees can do great work
 
And, according to Warren Buffett, per the linked article, "𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦."
 
In other words, leaders can gain trust by being open about even minor mistake or imperfections.
 
Because doing so invites reciprocity, and this two-way street is essential when building trust and forging good rapport.
 
Building an environment where people feel safe to make mistakes, take risks and speak up.
 
Critical for any organization that wants to be innovative and successful.
 
🚩 We are all humans, and pretending to be perfect damages authenticity, because not one of us is.
 
Being real, someone who makes mistakes and has shortcomings, makes a leader seem human and approachable.
 
𝘼𝙡𝙡𝙤𝙬𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙥𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙩𝙤, 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙣, 𝙗𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙫𝙚𝙨.
 
The article makes the point to start with trivial details, especially at the beginning.
 
Perhaps saying you didn’t sleep well the night before, or forget a prior conversation, as you’ve been so buried in another project.
 
This sets the stage for open communication, that's rooted in authenticity.
 
And a positive, successful culture, led by a real human, not someone pretending to be perfect.