How To Build And Maintain Trust When You Start A New Job

How To Build And Maintain Trust When You Start A New Job

Your skills determine how you work, but the bonds you form with your new teammates will determine how well you work together. That’s why establishing trust is one of the most important things you can do to ensure success in your new role. In this article, you’ll discover why trust matters and learn easy, evidence-based ways to build it-without doing that thing where you fall backwards.

Make It Personal

As long as you keep everything work-appropriate, share your background, your interests, and even your personal history with your team

Trust That You’re Trustworthy

When it comes to trust, your first few weeks matter-after all, it’s much easier to build trust than to repair it.

Treat Everyone Equally

Playing favorites or talking about coworkers behind their backs is one of the fastest ways to erode trust

Find Common Ground

Find things you have in common with your coworkers and find ways to connect with them

Ask for Feedback

Show that you trust their expertise and don’t feel threatened by them.

Trust Matters On Teams (Trust Us)

Trust is so important for teams because it boils down to psychological safety.

Evaluate Existing Team Trust

Paying attention to how everyone works together will help you evaluate how trusting your workplace is already, and how you can expect to fit in

The Trust Equation: Warmth and Strength

Trustworthiness is a combination of warmth and competence

Show Competence With Confidence

Competence is based on your performance, so this is the area of building trust that we all tend to focus on when we’re starting a new job.

Be Transparent And Honest

Don’t dance around bad news

Be Conscious Of Body Language And Tone Of Voice

Emphasize warmth nonverbally

Ask For Help

Speak up with questions and ask for help if you need it.

Be Reliable

Follow through on your word so your coworkers learn that when you promise something, they can trust you to deliver

Accept Mistakes (Sometimes)

Failure and human error are inevitable. Never attack or blame your coworkers if one of their ideas doesn’t work out, or if their mistake takes time and energy to correct.

The Importance Of Building Trust Early

How much you trust someone influences how you read their behavior

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