Building trust as a new leader

Becoming a new leader can be an exciting prospect, but it also presents the challenge of building trust within your team. Fortunately, there are several strategies that you as a new leader can employ to establish yourself. One crucial step is to take the time to get to know your team members on an individual basis.  Effective and open communication is another cornerstone that builds trust.  Finally getting your hands dirty, joining in with the team and leading by example are key to building a strong foundation for success. This article explores some of these tips in a little more detail.

Get to know your team

This point may seem obvious, but it is fundamental when leading a new team. By getting to know your employees it can help both you and them. Listening to your team means you are aware of any struggles they are facing and therefore you can begin to implement changes to fix these issues.

By talking to your team it can also be an excellent foundation for idea generation, as they may have some new ideas on how to solve an issue they themselves have faced.

As well as solving any weaknesses in your team, you can also identify strengths. For example, there may be a team member who has skills that are not being fully utilised. By identifying these skills, you can create workforce which are all preforming to their full potential.

Communicate

Having many layers of management can mean that messages get distorted and misunderstood, which can have a disastrous impact on the business.

Having a well-planned organisational structure with clear lines of communication really helps everyone know where they stand in the company, and more importantly who to talk to should an issue arise. It also helps employees understand the future goals and aims of the business and they can try and align their work activities accordingly.

Maintaining your communication is a long-term strategy and should be continually measured. Also, as changes in technology continue to develop it could result in improved communication networks, so it is important to keep an eye out for these.

Don't be afraid to get your hands dirty

Spend a day, week or even month experiencing the tasks that your team will participate in. By doing this, it will show you how your team works as a unit and highlight any problems they encounter first hand. The unique perspective will help you with future strategic decisions, as you will have a better understanding of how it will impact your team.

In addition, this will help to build relationships with your team as it can bring a sense of togetherness. Team members will feel more valued if they see their manager partaking in the same role and not simply a high-up and intimidating figure.

Lead by example

It can be easy for you to bring in simple, straightforward and quick changes into the office, but if you don’t follow the new guidelines then why should your employees? Nobody likes a hypocrite and by leading through example it can really help to boost your employees respect and faith in you as a leader.

Overall, following these tips will help you lead your new team to great success. However, people managing people is one of the trickiest subjects in the business world, so don’t be afraid to try new techniques if your approach is not fully effective. A  valuable way to discover these techniques and to discuss how to put them into practice is to discuss with other Managing Directors/Business leaders like you. That’s what we are passionate about at MD2MD. Becoming a better leader through peer-to-peer conversations.