Employee Performance: Leaders Must Establish Trust

“Trust is the glue of life. It’s the most essential ingredient in effective communication. It’s the foundational principle that holds all relationships.”

– STEPHEN R. COVEY

Trust is the glue that holds together human relationships. Whether professional or personal, building and maintaining a level of trust between people is crucial. We know that in a personal relationship, when trust is lost, the relationship also goes away. There is no difference in professional relationships within the business environment. Studies show clearly that people don’t ‘quit’ their job, they ‘quit’ their boss. When there is a solid relationship built on trust, people will go the extra mile with a boss they trust. There is a direct correlation between trust and employee performance, willingness to endorse their organization and willingness to stay with the organization.

What leader doesn’t want a loyal employee who will go the extra mile, and stick with the company through thick and thin?

Establishing Trust and Improving Employee Performance

Every leader wants a workforce that willingly will give 150% everyday to see that the business is successful. The problem is developing and building trust among employees is often looked at as a ‘soft skill’ in corporate America. Some leaders look at their role as to be able to manipulate, cajole and bully their workforce into submission. This is completely short-sighted and frankly ignorant. The most successful and high performing leaders have the ability to quickly establish trust among their employee base. They are able to establish it, then build upon these relationships over the long term. Those long term relationships build a quality workforce and a quality product or service for the customer. Successful leaders are able to reduce employee disengagement and inspirit a desire to succeed as a team, for the greater good of the organization.