Trust is the foundation of any successful relationship.  In our Leader’s Guide to Building Relationships, Step #2 is to connect with people to build trust.

Concept:   In sharing more about yourself as a person and being vulnerable, you will start to build trust.  When you seek to understand more about others, this shows that you care about them as a person and trust will grow even deeper.

Ask Yourself:  How much do I know about each of my employees’, interests, dreams and fears? Do I know their career aspirations?  Do I know what motivates them and what keeps them engaged?

Take Action:  Select an employee and invite them to coffee or lunch outside of the office for the purpose of getting to know them better. Treat the time as though you were meeting a new acquaintance and were interested in learning more about them.

Reflect:  What did I learn about the employee that will help me serve him/her better as a leader?

Next:  Continue to have similar “get to know you” meetings with other employees. Make notes to keep information straight and incorporate asking about things that are important to each person when you interact.

If you missed Step #1 – Know Thyself, you can check it out here.

I would love to hear how taking this leadership action helped you, so please come back and leave a comment.

Thank you for coming along for this ride.  I hope to see you next week when we explore how improving your communication skills can help you become a better leader.

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