While many factors contribute to our perceptions of trustworthiness, three vital traits comprise “the trinity of trust”, writes management consultant James Robbins in Nine Minutes on Monday:
Character:
What do your employees see when they look at you? How do they perceive your values, work ethic, integrity and honesty? Studies consistently cite honesty as managers’ No. 1 attribute – consistently doing what they say they’ll do. When managers act with integrity and reliability, they lay a foundation on which employees can rely.
Competence:
Employees place more trust in you when they believe you’re capable of effective leadership. This does not mean you’re the smartest one in the room – a position of superiority that, in fact, undermines perceived competency. Your managerial competency should not be measured by your technical skills, but by your ability to understand and influence people.
Caring:
The most neglected ingredient in the trust trinity is the ability to show you care. Employees don’t want to be cogs in a wheel. They want to feel that they matter and their bosses actually care about them as people. Only then can they reciprocate with trust.
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