What if I told you your leadership team could have 74% less stress, 106% more energy at work, 50% higher productivity, 13% fewer sick days, 76% more engagement, 29% more satisfaction with their lives (not just work, lives), and 40% less burnout.

What would that mean for your people, your teams, and your bottom line?

That’s the power of trust according to the Harvard Business Review.

https://hbr.org/2017/01/the-neuroscience-of-trust

The fact is that 58% of people say they trust strangers more than their own boss, so trust is an issue that needs attention.

When that lack of trust takes hold in the leadership team, all these problems are amplified and trust (as well as results) will continue to decline.

Leaders need to know how to identify low-trust signs among their peers and leadership teams and develop the tools to address them so they can effectively lead.

Low-trust Indicators

1. Lack of Open Communication

Information is not flowing freely. This could be due to information actively being withheld or unintentionally not communicated well. You might feel you can’t communicate something because the other parties won’t or can’t handle it.

2. Silos and Micromanagement

Leaders are focused only on their own domain and have a “we have to do it all” mentality, showing a lack of trust and partnership with other leaders.

3. Low Engagement

Meetings include the minimum of communication, commitment, or accountability. Problems are discussed but rarely solved and even is solutions are found they are not acted upon.

4. Frequent Conflict

This is the opposite of collaboration, and the conflicts are often ongoing without resolution which leads to a toxic environment. These conflicts spill over into your teams on a regular basis.

5. Assuming but not Verifying

When we are avoiding tough conversations we often find ourselves acting on assumptions about what the other parties are thinking, doing, or capable of handling.

Trust Building Tools

1. Open Dialogue

Work to create a safe space where you and your peers can discuss goals, needs, fears, risks, and anything else that needs to be discussed. Schedule regular 1:1 conversations with your peers to check in and maintain a close relationship that you can lean on when things get tough. Solicit feedback and take accountability where needed.

2. Set Expectations

The majority of times I see low-trust leadership team it is due to clear expectations between peers never being set. That doesn’t mean they don’t exist, it just means no one is aware of them.

Share your expectations with your peers and ask them about theirs. Without this, it’s like playing a game where no one will tell you the rules.

3. Offer and Give Support

Reciprocity is a real thing, and often if you give your support it prompts a cycle or pattern of mutual support. When you see a need of your peer’s that you can address, offer your help and follow through without an expectation of repayment.

4. Show Empathy

This might go along with Open Dialogue, but leadership can be a lonely job when it doesn’t have to be. Be vulnerable and show empathy when others show vulnerability. This is one of the strongest ways to build trust.

5. Create Shared Goals and Accountability

Individual goals are good and required, but if that’s all you have you asking to create unproductive competition. Stack the deck in your favor and create situations where success or failure happens only or primarily as a team.

Building trust isn’t an overnight process, but it’s essential for long-term success. By recognizing the signs of mistrust and actively working to build a supportive environment, leadership teams can achieve greater cohesion and effectiveness.