Building trust requires credibility, and holding your initial meetings was a first step. Your next chance to cultivate trust will involve processing the feedback from those meetings. Here are the main concerns you heard about, I know because they are unfortunately universal:

Lack of communication
Job security
Under compensated yet overworked
Lack of resources (staffing, tools, budget)
Underappreciated
Lack of personal growth
Lack of accountability (for others)
Incompetent managers

These are typical complaints heard across all organizations; but you’ll create a list using the actual feedback you received.

Next, schedule a follow-up with each subordinate to review what you've gathered. Ask them if their concerns are adequately summarized. Get anything you missed added to the list.

You can't promise to fix everything, but you can pledge to follow-up. You must be honest, you are not guaranteeing solutions, but you are committing to investigate.

This is a great start down the path of improved communication through credibility and trust. Be sure to thank the person for being helpful and for taking time out of their busy schedule - this demonstrates appreciation.

Note: Failing to follow up on these first meetings will have the opposite effect! You’ll lose credibility, and it will be very hard to rebuild.

As far as any items you can't address, schedule time with your superior to review the list; be sure to come prepared with specific examples. Your boss may not be able to resolve these issues either, but you can work together to develop a response. For example, to improve communication, have your boss meet with your team and discuss some of the organization's top projects and strategic goals.

If you can't resolve an item, it must still be acknowledged. If it's on the list, then the issue is causing anxiety, disruption, and disengagement; it must be confronted. For example, a concern about job security is likely difficult to address, but you understand why it exists (outsourcing, downsizing, automation). Find a way to acknowledge the fear, reiterate that the organization is committed to its mission and that you’re committed to understanding the related goals to the team.

The bottom line, present the things you can do; acknowledge those that you can’t do, with an explanation and if possible some sort of mitigation. Even partial responses demonstrate that you care.

Once you can respond to the entire list, meet with your team to review. Start with one-on-one meetings to discuss specific issues raised by individual members. Then conduct a full team meeting to ensure the responses are clear to everyone, and to elicit further feedback.

People respond differently when in a group setting; you may be surprised at the different points that arise. This is a lot of effort, but it isn’t difficult. In the end, your follow-through will build a ton of credibility with your team while impressing your boss.

You’ve now taken concrete, immediate steps to begin building trust. But you also need to develop the traits that allow credibility and trust to flourish. You'll recognize these attributes from previous lessons, but this time we'll get into more detail.

Knowledgeable. Nothing will impact your credibility more than appearing disconnected from the operational aspects of your team. You're in learning mode, and you're not afraid to show it. But this can't take too long; you must understand the technical demands placed on your people. No one expects you to become a subject matter expert overnight. But it’s essential that you understand and can discuss what the team experiences: the complexity of the work, the obligations put on them by process and people, and their requirements for tools and resources. Becoming adequately knowledgeable may require a great deal of time and effort, that's just something you need to accept. You know where you're deficient, so start learning now.

Positive. An upbeat attitude is critical to gaining and retaining trust. Think about your own experience with negative people; would you trust your career to this person? Not likely. So be a cheerleader for the organization and the team's projects. Demonstrate a can-do spirit. Be encouraging when things falter, supportive when things are hectic, and always see the cup as half full. Always wear a smile, especially in the face of difficulty.

Honest. You must always keep your word. If you don't know the answer to a question, say you don't know; don't embellish to impress. If you are always truthful, then you never have anything to hide. Honesty is the foundation of trust.

Trustworthy. Be careful not to over-commit, but when you do commit, you must deliver. Your team will continuously scrutinize your actions, so always lead by example. Behave consistently, and in the same way you expect others to behave. Accept accountability for your team's failures and then swiftly act to fix any problems. Celebrate your team's successes without promoting yourself; you'll eventually get the credit you're due. Don't point fingers in any other direction for your own failures.

Fair. Trust can't grow in an environment of favoritism, demonstrating fairness is an absolute necessity. If you're managing a team that you've known for a long time, this can be difficult since you already have biases and even friendships. You can be friendly with a subordinate, but you certainly can't show them any preference. If you fail at fairness, the result will be resentment and disruption. It won't be easy to put that genie back in the bottle.

There are other attributes that matter, but for this lesson, the focus was on building credibility and trust. Follow the steps and practice the behaviors outlined in this lesson, and a trusting relationship between you and your team will begin to flourish!

A note about friends…

It’s possible that you find yourself in the position of supervising someone who’s already a friend. This isn’t a problem if you can behave appropriately. First off, if you can’t imagine holding them accountable for their actions and performance, that’s a big red flag. Honestly ask yourself: Can I fire my friend? If the answer is no, you need to get this resolved, report the situation to your manager for their assistance.

Besides that, fairness is the most obvious issue. You must treat all work-related encounters exactly the same across all subordinates. A sniff of partiality towards a friend, and you’ll lose credibility and trust with everyone. As far as other interactions be smart. Remember at work you are not friends; your relationship is manager to employee. Can you go to lunch together? Joke around? Yes, but do the same with the rest of your team as well. If you notice your friendly interactions becoming a problem (you’ll hear about it!) then back off. And avoid things like closed door meetings or openly discussing after work plans that don’t include others. If you maintain professionalism, you can keep the friendship.

Gaining Trust