Without this one attribute, building trust within your team will elude you. That trait every good leader needs…to be transparent.
THE TRUTH ABOUT TRANSPARENCY
Transparency is one of the five requirements to building trust within your team. Arguably, it’s also the most important.
What exactly does it mean to be transparent?
Some would say, telling it like it is. That’s definitely part of it.
Another response is that being transparent is about being yourself. There’s truth to that too.
Others might equate transparency to telling every person on the team every detail about all non-confidential facts related to the business. This is less of what you’re going for when you practice transparency.
CONSIDER VULNERABILITY
What if I told you that being a transparent leader meant that you needed to be vulnerable? Show your feelings. Share your concerns. That kind of vulnerability.
When you embrace the fact that you don’t know it all, that you’re fearful, hesitant, overwhelmed, or even anxious, you are not burdening your team.
You’re modeling a behavior of opening up that most aren’t used to experiencing in the workplace. They will not only notice, but will be more likely to follow suit.
YOU CAN’T DO IT ALL
As a leader, business owner, or entrepreneur, your role is not to do everything.
This may be a tough pill for some of you to swallow, but it’s the truth. Unless, of course, you want to continue down the path to complete burnout.
Your strengths are to develop your business mission and vision. A close second is to pick the right team members to help you carry out the operations of your business.
Being vulnerable means you get to ask those team members for help. Call on the support you’ve already put in place around you when you need it.
You do it, and they will feel comfortable asking for help when they need it too.
STAY OPEN
On the flip side of asking for help when you need it is remaining open to two things.
First, remain open to the help you asked for. Don’t allow your inner critic get in the way and tell you you’re “less than” because you couldn’t do everything yourself. Resisting the help you asked for raises distrust in yourself and your team.
Second, remain open to others on your team who are vulnerable with how they feel and what they need help with. Reserve judgment and acknowledge your team member for feeling comfortable enough to come to you with their request.
In other words, remember to be kind.
Consider asking the question, “What do you need from me to help you feel better about being able to complete this task.”
BUILDING TRUST IS A PROCESS
As mentioned before, there are five steps to building trust within your team. Transparency is just one of them.
Being vulnerable, asking for help when you need it, and staying open are critical if you want to practice transparency.
To find out more about the other four team trust building steps, schedule a free strategy session with me. You’ll leave our session with my winning framework on building team trust and growing a strong team.
