It’s the Little Things
In business, in relationships, in leadership, in life, it’s the little things that build trust and mutual respect.
And it’s not doing the same little things that can destroy trust faster than you’d think.
Today I’m going to do something a little different. This is what all the cool internet kids call a listicle rather than my usual garrulous, loquacious, effusive, verbose, too-many-words style of article.
Below you will find a list of behaviors and actions that you can keep an eye on to make sure you’re always building trust with your team and colleagues. Many of these can also apply to your personal relationships as well. (I’d say all of them but most people don’t schedule 1:1s with their partners…)
Show up to your commitments
Be on time to meetings
Don’t cancel meetings at the last minute
Especially, don’t cancel 1:1s unless you really have a good reason (e.g. vacations)
Don’t undermine your staff
If you delegate something, don’t jump in and take over (unless it’s going REALLY wrong)
Encourage experimentation, learning, and growth
If someone is responsible for something, let them own it fully
Provide good regular feedback - both positive and constructive
Be responsive
Communicate continually, clearly, and concisely
Be available (particularly if you have a large hierarchy below you)
Listen
Be respectful in your words and actions
Act with integrity
Be empathetic
Follow through on your actions
Be fair, ethical, and equitable
When things go wrong, deal with them promptly and decisively
Above all, care for the whole person
Care for the whole person
I saw this picture as I was walking around San Francisco - while it’s specifically advertising medical care training you could do worse than having this as a leadership philosophy.
This list is by no means exhaustive but gives you a good reminder of what showing up looks like. While nothing I’ve mentioned is rocket surgery (although maybe some is brain science), I have either personally witnessed good and bad examples of these behaviors or had them described to me by clients, colleagues, or friends in the past few weeks.
I also don’t mean you to do any of these to the extremes - for example responsiveness doesn’t mean replying to messages 24/7/365, it means being responsive within the parameters that you agree.
The same applies to availability - don’t undermine your hierarchy by encouraging staff to skip proper escalation processes, but do be available for feedback and ideas from anyone in your team.
Ok so maybe I didn’t just write a list after all - hopefully however this is helpful. Are there others things I’ve missed? How do you build (or accidentally destroy) trust with your team?
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