Why is Trust in Leadership important?
Diversity and inclusion have been more of a focus the last few years, but an organizational commitment to promote a diverse and inclusive culture is predicated by a climate of trust – especially trust in leadership. “For many years, it’s been about having diversity represented. The way to get from diversity to inclusion is to build trust along the way,” says Tina Jaynes, Executive Vice President of Inclusity. “Trust is a foundational piece to get us from diversity to inclusion, and without an environment of trust, diversity can’t thrive.”
Every organization wants its employees to feel empowered to bring their authentic selves to work. Fostering trust and trust in leadership are key to provide that sense of safety so people can be authentic. When we feel safe, we feel comfortable to open up and expose vulnerabilities. Without trust and psychological safety, employees will struggle to talk about key issues like bias and race in their organizations. But trust doesn’t just happen – you have to earn it! Knowing is only half the battle; leaders must work on themselves, their behaviors and actions to create a culture of trust amongst employees and the workplace in general.
We put a short list of behaviors that leaders can focus on to begin the process of building trust in leadership. Adopting these characteristics can help foster a culture of trust and achieve inclusion, diversity, and equity (IDE) goals, and start you and your company on the path to becoming a more inclusive workplace.
How to Leverage Trust in Leadership to Strengthen Inclusion
Be Vulnerable: Being vulnerable doesn’t imply weakness, over-sharing, or violating professional boundaries. It means being open to potential criticism, trying something new and making a mistake, or allowing your approach to be questioned.
Be Authentic: To be authentic means that you are truly showing up as yourself. Being authentic creates psychological safety in the workplace. People tend to trust you when they believe they are interacting with the real you, and are more likely to feel safe enough to be their own authentic self, allowing them to express thoughts and feelings that can be new and exciting!
Be Courageous: In a trusting work environment, you need to have the courage to share your flaws and accept the flaws of others without judgment. Courage is inspiring – there’s a reason so many books, movies and stories are based on courage. By being courageous and practicing courageous inclusion, you can create a culture that many employees dream of.
Be Empathetic: Empathy, the ability to imagine what someone else might be thinking or feeling, is an indispensable skill needed to build trust with employees. The key to empathetic leadership is being willing to understand how another person may experience an event or situation without passing judgment or making assumptions, allowing them to feel safe and understood.
Be Curious: Being curious is foundational to creating an environment where people feel valued and really believe that you have a true interest in them and their point of view. Curiosity is one of the most important foundational behaviors of inclusive leaders; it leads to connection, innovation and creating a sense of belonging not just in the workplace, but in life itself.
If you’re intentional about building it, trust can blossom into authentic relationships and a deeper embrace of diverse, inclusive, and equitable workplaces. As we’ve mentioned before, however, any change in culture must start at the top. That’s why trust in leadership is so important; we must lead by example to create the environment we wish to see. Learn more about our inclusion practice, which can help you foster greater psychological safety and trust in your organization.
