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Trust is essential in any organization, and leaders play a crucial role in building and maintaining it. When employees trust their leaders, they are more engaged, productive and loyal to the company. However, trust can be fragile and easily broken, often by actions or behaviors that leaders may not even be aware of.
Below, 17 Forbes Coaches Council members explore some common mistakes that leaders make that can inadvertently destroy the trust they have built with their teams. From not being transparent to micromanaging, here are some behaviors that leaders should avoid to maintain a high level of trust with their employees.
1. Not Acknowledging Fear
During these uncertain times, leaders must have the courage to feel fear. Fear is okay. It’s human. And the people we lead are humans too. The trust we ask of them is directly correlated to the empathy and connection they feel with us. So look in the mirror, get comfortable with your fears, and then lead from a place that acknowledges fear while choosing bold action. Your people will follow. - Chris Strouthopoulos, Ascent Empowerment
2. Micromanaging The Team
Micromanaging is something that leaders often do, and it ends up destroying the confidence of their team. It does not matter if it is well-intended or not; micromanagement does not let team members experience independence and make their own decisions. There is a very fine line between broadly giving directions and micromanaging, and leaders need to be wary of that. - Manzar Bashir, Potential Mapping
3. Oversharing Underdeveloped Plans
Leaders can destroy trust when they prematurely share plans that are not yet ready for execution. Although strategies are often clear before the financial year starts, plans are often revisited and details updated to account for different dynamics in the organization and the culture. When a team witnesses a disconnect between communication and execution, it breaks the trust the leaders have built. - Senem Anataca, 180UTC
4. Not Encouraging Direct Communication
When problems arise or people come to a leader with issues, they either try to solve them or downplay them. Encouraging people to solve the conflict and go directly to the source of the problem will remind them that their leader does not play sides while also encouraging their growth, both important seeds of building trust. - Andrew Deutscher, Regenerate
5. Not Taking Necessary Action
Often, it is not what a leader does, but what a leader doesn’t do that can destroy trust. I see this as leadership incapacity. Whether it’s not acting on feedback received by peers or team members, not acting in line with shared organizational values or not seeing and calling out bias when it is taking place, these actions can, and do, slowly erode levels of trust. - Afsheen Ismail-Wey, The Phoenix Coaching Co.
Forbes Coaches Council is an invitation-only community for leading business and career coaches. Do I qualify?
6. Discussing Employee Performance With Others
It’s a mistake for leaders to talk to their team about other employees’ performance. Why? Because most employees will measure their leader’s behavior by what they hear and see, so they may think that the leader is sharing things about their performance when they witness this. So, as much as it might be tempting, do not talk about employees with team members. Instead, talk directly to each team member, not to their peers. - April Sabral, April Sabral Leadership
7. Failing To Take Responsibility For Errors
Leaders must accept and acknowledge recent mistakes they’ve made. Team members are always watching how we, as leaders, lead—especially when we’ve made a mistake. A leader’s failure to responsibly own their own errors becomes part of a culture where integrity is optional. A great CEO I worked with lived by this formula: “Integrity + credibility = trust = currency = the amount you have to spend.” - Angela Cusack, Igniting Success
8. Undermining Your Teams’ Confidence
Micromanagement destroys trust. If it’s your default as a leader, particularly in challenging times, you undermine the confidence of your teams and, ultimately, their trust in you. Do your best to remain the diplomat and strategist for the team to allow them to do great work. Clear, consistent and frequent dialogue will ensure everyone is headed in the right direction. - Susan Murray, Clearpath Leadership
9. Not Embracing Your Own Vulnerability
The best leaders embrace their own vulnerability in the presence of those they lead. Leaders who do not demonstrate vulnerability can create a sense of distance and distrust in their relationships. The leaders who create more authentic and trusting relationships are open and transparent about their fears and their mistakes, which leads to greater empathy and deeper trust among the team. - Brian Houp, ReZone Coaching
10. Offering Unsolicited Guidance Too Soon
When a leader steps in, unasked, to offer up potential solutions or guidance, it can be interpreted as a sign of impatience, worry or lack of trust. It is important to remember that people want to feel empowered. Guidance offered at the appropriate time will resonate and inspire. In addition, struggling and learning from mistakes will build resilience in the team. Back away and trust the process. - Peter Accettura, Accettura Consulting LLC
11. Pushing Your Own Agenda
Trust is built by showing teams that you have their interest and needs in mind. Relentlessly pushing your own agenda at the expense of others will result in rapid trust erosion. Explore your core drivers of trust: Do you show up as truly authentic? Do you exhibit empathy by honestly caring about others’ success? Are your reasoning and judgment sound? Small behavior changes can go a long way. - Beth Egan, Skillsoft
12. Allowing The Ego To Show
A leader is approachable and supportive, without any bias or judgment, creating trust with the teams without being egoistic. This makes the leader “genuine”—without any hidden, selfish agenda—but rather reflecting a vision for the whole team. The moment the ego affects the tone and is felt in the body language, the rapport starts to break, and this destroys the team’s trust in the leader. - Anil Sureen, Dr. Anil Coaching Institute
13. Not Delivering On Promises
When leaders make commitments or promises to their teams, they create an expectation of follow-through. If they don’t deliver on those promises, it can lead to disappointment, disillusionment and a loss of trust among team members. To maintain trust, leaders should ensure that they are transparent, realistic and consistent in their actions and communication. - Dr. Jolene Church, DJC Consulting, Coaching, & Training, LLC
14. Speaking Poorly Of Teammates Who Are Not There
Leaders inadvertently diminish the trust they’ve built with their teams by speaking critically about team members who are not present. Employees then start to wonder; if a leader is speaking poorly about one member of the team, the possibility must exist that they could be next. We all thrive in a high-trust environment. Reliable, authentic relationships and open and direct communication increase trust every time. - Rachel Madorsky, Love Your Life, LLC
15. Being Too Friendly At Work With Employees
Leaders are people, too, and people want friends. Many leaders often get close to employees and forget that everyone on the team is watching and judging their interactions. Perception is reality with leaders, so even if a promotion is warranted, the team will perceive the relationship as a factor behind the promotion. It is best to keep friendships outside of work for the perception of fairness to all. - Amera McCoy, Minority Business Circle
16. Using Sarcasm
It’s a mistake for a leader to use a kind of language that causes laughter at first and tears in the end, and that is sarcasm. I think it is huge responsibility for leaders nowadays to learn how to communicate without hostility and how to be a servant leaders. Sometimes, we want to be funny, but we need to use a lot of gentleness to elevate humor and make it valuable—and stay far away from the gray area of sarcasm. - Edyta Kwiatkowska, Leadit, Hana Mana Instytut Szkoleniowo-Rozwojowy
17. Constantly Canceling Meetings
Leaders are always pulled in multiple directions and often have to choose where to put their time and energy. Sometimes, that means they have to cancel meetings with their team. When this happens occasionally, team members will usually understand. Constantly canceling or rescheduling meetings may erode trust and inadvertently send the message that the leader doesn’t care or have time for team members. - Molly Walsh, Standout Consulting
