Do Your Employees Trust You?

5 Steps to Earn Your Employees Trust and Respect

Most managers would say their employees trust and respect them, but the question becomes is that reality? Managers are at a disadvantage when trying to answer this question. Only they know the intentions behind various actions. Meanwhile, their employees must judge a manager by how they perceive the managers behavior and style.

So how can a manager show employees their good intentions to earn their trust? There are five things even good manager must do:

1) Managers Must Have Consistent Follow Through. Employees want to know what to expect from their boss in different situations. When a manager is inconsistent in reactions, employees feel the need to be constantly protecting themselves in playing defense. This may sound like an easy concept, but can take an enormous amount of discipline for some managers.

2) Communicate Through Clear and Open Lines. Employees do not like when they feel a boss is keeping important information from them. In fact, this can demoralize some employees and leads them into a state of permanent second guessing. Your employees do not want to feel like you are spinning a message in order to make yourself and/or the company look better.

3) Even Managers Need Work. Never think that there is nothing you need to learn and/or improve because there is. Employees who see their managers trying to improve their skills will be more likely to improve theirs.

4) Your Values Should Not Be Shaded In Gray. Managers must make their values and priorities as clear as possible so employees have a guideline. Also, you need to consistently state your values.

5) Support Your Team When Necessary. Employees do not trust managers who routinely ‘throw them under the bus’ when it becomes inconvenient for them. Stand up for your staff in defense whenever possible. Few things will garner the amount of trust and respect of a manager as when they support their staff through the difficult times.

Being a trustworthy manager is one of the first steps in creating an engaged and productive workforce for your company. It all starts with your leadership!