week-3-building-trust-BWJcVbgK.pdf

21st Century Leaders and Managers Must be Able to Build and Maintain Trust

Building Trust

Skill #2: Build Trust in INDIVIDUAL Relationships

Skill #3: Build Trust in TEAM Relationships

Lack of Trust

References

Week 3: Building Trust

Lesson 1 of 5

Building Trust

It takes s20 years to build a reputation and �ve minutes
to ruin it.

Warren Buffet

The cornerstone to managing e�ective teams, encouraging good relationships, motivating

people and dealing with con�ict all have at the core a leader’s ability to build trust. While good

communication skills make building trust easier, it ultimately comes down to communicating

that you are honest, fair, and respectful of those with whom you are dealing with.

Trust is important in all aspects of business, from leadership to sales and marketing.

However, what does trust look like in business? Smith (2012) provided some great

information in his article about trust and business relationships. Read through the article to

review dimensions of trust, trust strength and decisions and three elements of trust that he

sees as important in the business world.

Watch james Davis’ 2014 TedTalk below abut building trust and relationships as one of the

drivers of business success.

Building trust | James Davis | TEDxUSU

Trust and Business Relationships

Stephen Covey, in his article, talked about 13 behaviors of high-trust leaders worldwide, and

listed below are these 13 behaviors. Make sure that you read this entire article, as Stephen

Covey is one of the most world-renowned leadership experts.

Talk straight

Demonstrate respect

Create transparency

Right wrongs

Show loyalty

Deliver results

Get better

Confront reality

Clarify expectations

https://www.leadershipnow.com/CoveyOnTrust.html

Practice accountability

Listen �rst

Keep commitments

Extend trust

Lesson 2 of 5

Skill #2: Build Trust in INDIVIDUAL Relationships



In today’s global business environment it is important to be able to build trust with

individuals in both face-to-face settings as well as in settings where you only interact with

the people from a distance. When you have to build trust with individuals from a distance you

must do so in ways that are di�erent from how you might build trust in a face-to-face

setting. Think about what you might do to build trust with someone that you do not see face-

to-face.

Remember that in this class we are going through ten different skills for effective

management. Here you will learn about Skill #2,

Relationships have become critical to the success of any client- or customer-driven business.

The expense of obtaining customers and �nding good business associates makes retaining

these relationships imperative. Further, when the price is often the only point buyers use in

di�erentiating competitors, relationships can often mean the di�erence between keeping

clients, customers, suppliers, or employees. Trusting the person, you work with or buy from

may be the only competitive edge that has customers choosing your company over another.

Therefore, it is incumbent that all business relationships have honesty, trust, fairness, and

respect at their core. As Warren Bu�et suggests, a twenty-year reputation can be destroyed in

�ve minutes. Experience tells us that it takes time for people to forgive but forgetting is

another story and it is the forgetting that is critical to the element of trust in any relationship.

According to Ken Blanchard (2010), “Fifty-nine percent of

individuals indicated they had left an organization due to trust

issues citing lack of communication and dishonesty as key

contributing factors.”

Blanchard’s article about building trust discusses multiple elements of trust that are outlined

below. For more in-depth information about these elements, make sure to read the article.

The High Cost of Low Trust –

Low morale

Lower productivity

People “quit but stay”

Increased turnover

https://vtshrm.shrm.org/sites/vtshrm.shrm.org/files/Blanchard-Building-Trus.pdf

The Four Elements of Trust –

Able

Believable

Connected

Dependable

Trust Busters –

Lack of Communication

Dishonesty

Breaking con�dentiality

Taking credit for others’ work

Trust Builders –

Give credit

Listen

Set clear goals

Be honest

Follow through

Building Leadership Transparency –

Be accessible

Acknowledge people’s concerns

Follow through

Lesson 3 of 5

Skill #3: Build Trust in TEAM Relationships

Skill #3: Build Trust in TEAM Relationships both face-to-face and at a distance

It is important to be able to lead teams face-to-face and at a distance. In today’s global

setting it is important to be able to lead teams that are dispersed around the globe and to do

so leaders need to be able to get team members to not only trust them as a leader but also to

trust one another.

The traditional line between leaders and managers is blending both �nding their roles

combined. Creating trust among team members is often complicated by egos and

competency. Building trust requires a manager to get others to think past the individual and

focus on the company if productivity is to be enhanced. This can be hard enough when you

are looking at someone in the eye but the long-distance aspect can make building trust even

more complex. The virtual trust issues are harder for a manager because distance and culture

can make transparency and communication harder. In looking at the Trust skill set this week

to be sure to recognize the di�erence between having a face to face contact with the people

behind the relationships and the virtual relationship. 

According to Sylvia Johnson, there are 10 ways to build trust in remote teams.
Click on the circles below to learn more about them.



 

https://insights.learnlight.com/en/articles/build-trust-in-remote-teams/

Commitment

Gain commitment to accomplishing the goals the leader sets.



Interpersonal Relationships

Take time to socialize virtually.



Collaboration Tools

Select the proper tools to support the team.



Transparency

Share information openly with the team.



Accountability

Share progress from members and coach those who need it to get them on track.



Con�dence

Demonstrate con�dence in team members.



Reciprocity

Be a team player.



Congruency

Say what you mean and do what you say.



Dependability

Be reliable



Consistency

Be predictable and consistent.



Read more about how to build trust in a virtual team in this 2018

article from Jeff Boss in Forbes. Jeff provides four different

opportunities to build trust virtually.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffboss/2018/07/17/your-virtual-team-is-going-about-trust-all-wrong-how-to-build-trust-in-a-virtual-team/#4535226d2fd2

Lesson 4 of 5

Lack of Trust

it is possible that there is already a lack of trust amongst your team or the teams in your

organization. Once that trust is gone, as you have already learned here, it is di�cult to get it

back. What are the signs to look for to �nd out if there is a trust issue? How do you know if

trust issues are ruining your team?

Signs Employees Do Not Feel Trusted

According to a 2016 article from Aberdeen, there are some telltale signs that employees do

not feel trusted in the organization. Below is an outline of these signs:

You do all of the talking in meetings1

When you ask for opinions, no one speaks up2

Employees ask for permission when they do not need it3

You only hear good news4

In that same article, the author provided fur elements of trust to help leaders try to build trust

with employees. Below is an outline of these four elements:

Able – When others perceive that you are committed to your own growth and

development, it builds con�dence. 
1

https://www.aberdeen.com/hcm-essentials/know-signs-distrust-workplace/

Believable – Employees want to know that you can be trusted to be straight with

them, even when things aren’t going well.
2

Connected – People want to know that their leaders care about them and can

relate to their challenges.
3

Dependable – People want to know that you can be counted on consistently.4

Make sure that you read the complete article for the rest of the important information

concerning signs that employees do not feel trusted and how to ensure that you can build

that trust.

 Now that you have gone through this lecture, think back to the different signs of trust and
the different strategies that the different articles and videos have provided for building

trust as well as what they have said about what happens when trust is lost. What

commonalities did you see amongst the different resources? 

Lesson 5 of 5

References

Blanchard, K. (2010). Building trust: The critical link to a high-involvement,

high-energy workplace begins with a common language.

https://vtshrm.shrm.org/sites/vtshrm.shrm.org/�les/Blanchard-Building-

Trus.pdf

1

Boss, J. (2012). Your virtual team is going about trust all wrong: How to build trust

in a virtual team. https://www.forbes.com/sites/je�boss/2018/07/17/your-virtual-

team-is-going-about-trust-all-wrong-how-to-build-trust-in-a-virtual-

team/#573c1c02fd20

2

Covey, S. (n.d.). How the best leaders build trust.

https://www.leadershipnow.com/CoveyOnTrust.html
3

Davis, J. (2014). Building trust. https://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=s9FBK4eprmA&feature=emb_title.
4

Hackbarth, N. (n.d.). Know these signs of distrust in the workplace.

https://www.aberdeen.com/hcm-essentials/know-signs-distrust-workplace/
5

Johnson, S. (n.d.) 10 ways to build trust in remote teams.

https://insights.learnlight.com/en/articles/build-trust-in-remote-teams/
6

Smith, T. (2012).  Trust and business relationships.

Trust and Business Relationships

7

https://vtshrm.shrm.org/sites/vtshrm.shrm.org/files/Blanchard-Building-Trus.pdf

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffboss/2018/07/17/your-virtual-team-is-going-about-trust-all-wrong-how-to-build-trust-in-a-virtual-team/#573c1c02fd20

https://www.leadershipnow.com/CoveyOnTrust.html

https://www.aberdeen.com/hcm-essentials/know-signs-distrust-workplace/

https://insights.learnlight.com/en/articles/build-trust-in-remote-teams/

https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTMM_45.htm