Mental Wellness in the Workplace

Meaningful Conversations: Building Trust in Relationships

Building trust in relationships is an important factor in our ability to have meaningful and candid conversations. This theme was consistent in several of the comments in our most recent survey. Over the last two years of the pandemic, we have dealt with uncertainty, fear, and maybe even a lack of trust, and we are still adapting to new ways of doing things in both our personal and work lives. It’s normal to feel a sense of uncertainty when information, systems, and priorities continue to change and evolve.

Much of the research on trust in organizations is geared towards leadership, but we can all benefit from a culture of leading from a trustworthy place. We have put together a list of recommendations for individuals who are experiencing uneasiness/uncertainty and actions that supervisors or those in leadership positions can take to create trust:

1. Look at the facts and don’t just rely on instincts or intuition. Make a list of things that are generating distrust.
2. Trust is a spectrum. Identify what someone can be trusted with and give them your trust in those areas.
3. Be transparent. If you cannot, explain why you are withholding information (e.g., the matter is still being worked on or due to the legal nature of the issue we cannot discuss it etc.)
4. Provide direct and consistent communication. Give people the instructions they need to meet your expectations. Providing information or instructions that are too general could cause people to interpret and act on the information in different ways.
5. Try to use proactive statements, like ‘I need XXX’ as opposed to ‘Don’t do YYY.’
6. Prioritize your needs, expectations and requirements. Acknowledge what’s most important and what can be completed later. People tend to feel anxious and distrustful when they either must guess at what takes precedence or when they are told after they have prioritized things on their own that their way was incorrect.
7. Have milestones. Follow up on their progress, provide feedback, and hold them accountable.
8. Apologize and transparently adjust the commitments when you realize you have over-committed your team and they are becoming overwhelmed.
9. Always show gratitude and say thank you, even if something wasn’t handled perfectly.
10. Always find the positive and acknowledge it concisely, honestly, and professionally.
11. Admit when you do not know something but promise to find the answer and apologize for mistakes.

Additional Resources

• Build Better Connections through Emotional Intelligence Webinar
• The Decision to Trust
• The Spectrum of Trust
• 5 Powerful Things Happen When A Leader Is Transparent
• Transparency in the Workplace: Why It Matters and How to Practice It
• Is a Lack of Trust Ruining Your Team? Here’s 3 Ways to Fix It
• How To Use Proactive Management Techniques in the Workplace
• Great Leaders are Proactive
• Great Leaders Prioritize
• How to Prioritize Your Work When Your Manager Doesn’t
• Lack Of Trust Can Make Workplaces Sick And Dysfunctional
• The Disadvantages of Workplace Democracy
• The relation between overcommitment and burnout: Does it depend on employee job satisfaction?
• Workplace overwhelm: how to protect your team from change fatigue
• The Benefits Of Showing Gratitude In The Workplace
• How a Little Gratitude Can Help You Get Ahead at Work
• The Importance of Positive Feedback and How To Deliver It To Others
• The Value of Acknowledging Your Mistakes
• What to Say Instead of "I Don't Know"
• Here’s How the Best Bosses Apologize When They Make a Mistake
• Apologizing Effectively: A Guide for Managers