Four Steps for Building Trust

Back in 1990  I was Team Coordinator for Manufacturing at Kimberly-Clark's Service and Industrial "Greenfield" facility in Loudon, TN. I was responsible for operating the plant with a team of 24 people and we rotated on twelve hour shifts running the tissue manufacturing plant twenty four seven.  It was my first "supervision" experience and things weren't going well for old Darryl.  I was "Command and control."  I thought that was the way to lead, to manage, to dictate, to steamroll opposition, to crack the whip etc. My team hated me.  We were last among quality, production, housekeeping and downtime management. I was pulling my hair out.  Truthfully, I wanted to quit.

My good friend and our company HR Director at that time Wade Detamore pulled me aside one day in an effort to offer help.  He started out by reaffirming the obvious when he gently directed the conversation by saying, "Darryl, if our hourly workforce took a vote today amongst the four Team Coordinators as to which one would be the most preferred, YOU  WOULDN'T WIN!"  You are "Messing" up (my word not his, his was more graphic and candid)."  "If you don't change your style, you won't be here after the first of the year to continue this struggle." 

Wade didn't stop at the general style failure feedback.  He gave specific, tangible examples to which I could identify and to which I could react.  "Your team believes you act as if you are ALWAYS right, NEVER wrong, even when you are CLEARLY WRONG."  "Worse, they feel like they can't approach you to discuss differing opinions or to offer suggestions to help you not lead them down a path of failure."  "You demand results right away even when its not realistic, you don't give them time to learn or even to fail in order to learn." Lastly, "Do you even know anything about  your team, their family, their hopes, their fears?"

Ok, it was tough to hear but he was right, and I knew it.  Wade: "You need to start all over and begin building the relationship from ground zero." "This time build it on trust, lead them don't drive them." He then layed out four principles of leadership and building trust that I never forgot.

1.  Vulnerability - Your team needs to know that you are vulnerable, that you're not perfect and that you DO make mistakes.  That's the human factor.  Admit when you're wrong, make things right and move on.  Your team will respect and appreciate that.

2.  Approachability - Your team needs to believe they can come talk to you about ANYTHING without fear of backlash or punishment.

3.  Patience - You need to give your team time to develop as a team and as individuals.  There are times you must allow them to fail in order to learn.  Teach them and support them, don't come down on them when things don't go the way you think they should.

4. Concern - You need to show concern about your team members, their families, their hopes, their dreams and their general well being.

Do all four of the above you will lay the foundation for trust and thereby lay the foundation for highly productive and healthy work teams.

I took his advice. It didn't happen overnight but with in six months guess what happened?  Guess whose team was the most productive, drove the least downtime, logged the highest safety record?  You're right, the principles worked!  I use them everyday now and teach them to every aspiring young manager / supervisor I meet.