If a leader wants to lead well and successfully, he or she must build trust with those around him or her. Without trust, teams won’t thrive or even survive. I believe we leaders must prioritize building trust with and among those we lead and serve. Consider these 10 ways to build trust with your teams.

1. Speak truth, but always in love.
   • Eph. 4.15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ.
   • Don’t spin and don’t flatter. Tell the truth, but don’t use a bat to do it. Jim Carrey starred in a movie several years ago called Liar Liar. He always spoke the truth but with no love, consideration or respect.
   • One of the most successful ways to deplete people’s trust accounts is to send angry emails. Don’t do that. See my blog here about misusing email.
2. Golden rule trust.
   • The golden rule says, “Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you.” (Matt. 7.12)
   • In other words, give trust to others and they will give it to you. If you don’t trust others, don’t expect them to trust you. Trust gets reciprocated. You want trust, you have to extend it to others
   • Biblically rooted trust does not mean blind trust. Stephen M. R.  Covey calls it smart trust. There must be some credibility and history before you give full trust. I recommend his book Smart Trust.
   • Smart trust means that you have a propensity to trust and that you extend and inspire trust in others.
3. Risk transparency.
   • People don’t trust what they don’t see. Trust requires humility in that you give part of yourself to others so that you actually give the power to them to potentially hurt or disappoint you. Banish hidden agendas. Don’t make things appear what they are not. Be willing to admit your failures and struggles.
4. Go the extra mile to right wrongs.
   • Don’t cover up. Don’t make excuses. Own your own failures. You will build trust in others when you admit it when you were wrong.
5. Give credit where credit is due. 
   Speak about others as if they were present.

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   • Practice Matthew 18 by dealing with conflict 1-1 first. Don’t let others con you into their conflict when they aren’t willing to apply Matthew 18.
6. Be accountable.
   • God gives more opportunity and responsibility to those who have proved themselves trustworthy.
     • “‘Well done, my good servant!’ his master replied. ‘Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.’ (Luke 19.17)
   • Hold yourself accountable and responsible. Don’t blame others when you should take responsibility.
7. Do what say you will do.
   • Behave in ways that builds trust in others. Show up the same way every day. Don’t be mad at everybody one day and happy as the lark the next day. Be consistent.
   • … those who fear the LORD…keeps his oath even when it hurts… (Ps 15.4)
   • … show that they can be fully trusted, so that in every way they will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive. (Titus 2.10)
   • Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful. (1 Cor. 4.2)
8. Practice authentic empathy.
   • Empathy is the ability to step inside the shoes of another, feel his emotions, and see life from his perspective. When you seek to truly empathize, it creates safety.
     Empathy is the ability to step inside the shoes of another

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   • One of the Old Testament words for trust (batach) has a meaning of “careless.” When you trust your spouse or someone else, you feel so safe that you are careless—or free of concern—with him or her. You don’t have to hide who you are or be self-protective (from Focus on the Family).
9. Seek understanding before being understood. In other words learn to truly listen.
   • My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry…. (James 1.19)
   • The more we know each other and truly listen, the more we can understand why others do what they do.
   • Listen to understand, not build your case, not to reply, not to find loopholes in the other person’s argument or viewpoint, not to correct them, but listen to first understand.
10. What would you add as a tenth?

Related posts:

• The Trust Deficit: take this quiz and find out if your team has it
• 5 Ways to Build Trust with your Teams