FastTrain

When talking to managers about working with their teams we often talk about trust. Then one manager challenged me and said, OK define trust so that we understand what it looks like.

It was quite a challenge to define trust in quite the way he wanted; but here goes. On the most basic level it means ‘to have confidence in’; but that doesn’t really define trust sufficiently well for the needs of a manager.

Instead I would define trust in management through three elements, openness, integrity and consistency.

Openness is that element that says tell your people as much as you can, and tell it to them in simple easy to understand language rather than wrapping it up in jargon and management speak to make you sound important.

Integrity is another word for honesty, truthfulness and you could say honourable actions. In other words be true to your people and don’t play silly games or politics with them. Also, don’t take credit for their work but give credit where it is due.

Consistency in one sense means being reliable, steady, perhaps even predictable. Managers who fly into a rage are not consistent. Managers who act in a logical way handle situations calmly, deal with people problems in an even handed way so that everyone knows where they stand.

So that defines trust from the direction a manager should be coming; of course trust is a two way thing and the manager should also have trust in their team.