Leaders need their teams to succeed. The foundation of the relationship needs to be built on trust. At the same time, our boss, our bosses’ boss, etc. mean something to us. They represent the power and decision making of the organization: either from top-down or when breaking a stalemate. To round it all out, the emotional aspects of productivity sit right in between this trust and organization structure which makes it exponentially harder to decipher and stay the best course. Leaders might need to make the first move in the hope of doing better.
Trust your team before they trust you
Trust is not a two-way street. It is two, one-way streets. A leader is always in the middle:
- Has other leaders/bossess looking to them as the singularly accountable delivery person
- Has the team looking to them as the singularly accountable direction person
As a leader being in the middle and having a level of authority higher than anyone else on your team, it is important that you express trust in your team. Even if it is first; especially even. Always remember that you work for your team, they don’t work for you. It is up to you to set the stage for the team to know that you believe in them which helps to build their confidence.
Show trust in your team before they show trust in you
Without actions that highlight the trust, the team won’t have any reason to believe in their leader. Specific team members might take you on your word and a team that is always on the happy path is a pipedream. The more likely scenario is that you haven’t yet been in a situation where the trust has been tested or at least tested enough. These tests, points of friction, are where relationships, and the trust in them, are fortified.
Don’t shy away from questioning in the process
Blind faith doesn’t work either. A leader creates an environment that allows for discussion and disagreement with the goal of coming to consensus. Additionally, it is important to figure out what swords are worth falling on; knowing when to let things go or when to continue to lean into something is critical for building the collective confidence, resolve, and quality of the team and its output.
Trust and the power structure needs to be an enabling force with mutual success coming when those relationships are optimal. While there isn’t one, and only one, reason why a team member leaves, belief in the leadership believing in them, the work they are doing, and how they are doing it has to be near the top of the list. Relationships (of all kinds) need to be nutured from both/all sides, but acknowledging that in this heirarchical structure of power there is a weight that people above have and therefore makes sense that they might need to make the first move in order to the optimal relationship.