“Trust”
by Chris Reinhardt, feedlot specialist
As the employer or team leader, trust of your employees is essential to workplace morale. We can work for someone we don’t trust, and take home our paycheck, but will we really be motivated to go the extra mile, willingly put in overtime, and do the right things when nobody’s watching, if we think “The boss doesn’t, so why should I?”
Everybody wants to think of themselves as trustworthy, but can you honestly put your finger on intentional actions you’ve taken which would garner trust from your employees. Or, is it easier to find the one or many times that you’ve done or said things which have eroded or destroyed someone’s trust, all in the name of “This is business.”? Beyond simply trusting you to pay them for the time they’ve put in, would your employees willingly go beyond their normal duties, without an iron-clad guarantee that there was something in it for them?
In the old days a simple way of stating what you thought of someone’s character was to say, “I’d let him hold my money.” Back before banking became commonplace, if you needed to go on an extended trip you’d either bury your excess cash in a jar under the porch, or you simply gave it to someone you trusted to hold until you returned home. Would any of your employees hand you their entire life savings, in cash, knowing that when they returned in a few weeks or months, it would all be returned safe and sound?
“Everyone has integrity until it costs them something.” Have you sacrificed something for your team lately, maybe something that wasn’t a built in part of the job? Have you taken a hard stand that may have hurt the short-term bottom line, but upheld your team’s reputation? Did you make sure they took time off after their baby was born, or when their grandmother died, or when their daughter made the state finals? Did you take the long shift when they had a cold? We all would line up to work for that leader.
Team building requires sacrifice—on everyone’s part. Great teams aren’t made from a swivel chair. The more your team sees you sacrifice, for their benefit, not your own or the company’s, the stronger the team bond and their trust in you as their leader will grow.
