Why you should look for trust, not respect
Photo by Huy Chien Tran on Pexels
We've probably all heard the phrase “show some respect”, right? And when you heard it you perhaps weren't being the nicest person to someone who you didn't like. Nonetheless, you put on a smile and acted polite. It can be this kind of inauthentic respect that, as a leader, you probably don't want. Don't get me wrong, you definitely don't want people being rude or disrespectful, but wouldn't you rather have a team that is authentic in their behaviour towards you? Trust is the way to do that.
Respect is defined as a feeling of admiration for someone or something elicited by their qualities, abilities or achievements. Trust is defined as the firm belief in the reliability, truth or ability of someone or something. These two concepts are similar and go hand-in-hand, but can you have one without the other?
The short answer is yes… at least in the case of inauthentic respect (the kind you show your boss because you’re being polite), trust is not guaranteed. However, trust is an authentic feeling and creates a feeling of respect.
Being a trusted leader has a whole host of benefits besides authentic respect. When there is trust in the workplace, employees are 23% more likely to offer more ideas or solutions. When your team trusts you to lead, they are less afraid to voice their opinions or make mistakes which leads to more honest and open communication. This open communication makes work a lot less stressful and is shown to increase loyalty and therefore decrease employee turnover. More benefits of being a trusted leader include:
Lower team stress levels
Less resistance to change or decision-making
Better employee performance, feedback, and improvement
Better collaboration
Less red tape blocking decision-making
Attract higher-quality talent
The easiest way to create trust
Trust is created through connection. Your team needs to feel connected with you and they should feel like they at least somewhat know you. At Warmspace, we are all about human connection and we have multiple blog posts that can help you learn how to connect with your team. And if the blog posts still aren’t enough, we can provide you valuable tools to help you do so.
You see, trust is created through connection and connection is created through openness and vulnerability. Sharing appreciation, challenges, how you’re feeling in general or asking for support are all ways that strong leaders show vulnerability. If you’re new to these concepts and need some framework or guidance, you can book a demo with us and we’ll help you out. Outside of vulnerability, here are other opportunities for you to build trust in everyday interactions:
Ask for input when looking for solutions or ideas
Ask for feedback, don't just give it
Be mindful of how your team are doing and show empathy and compassion
Offer support and check up on what challenges they're dealing with
Trust them back - reduce red tape in some aspects of your approval process
Give them credit where credit is due (don't steal their ideas)
So even though trust and respect go hand-in-hand, there is no substitute for trust and all its benefits in leadership. If you aim for trust, respect will follow in its most genuine form, and your team and organisation will benefit greatly from the time and effort you’ve put into building it.
