It is my belief at TIGERS Success Series that an organization’s employees are its number one asset. It is also my belief that this wonderful asset has been de-appreciated to the point of high turnover, low engagement and trouble in recruiting and retaining talented people who have the capacity to help organizations thrive and grow.
At the same time, for any organization to operate effectively, employees must show up, be productive and care about their positions. It is also important that they know how the work they perform impacts the organization’s bottom line. Therefore, in order to close the gap between these two primary business initiatives, producing a work environment that promotes happy, productive employees hinges on developing a culture of trust. Employee trust in the organization, their leaders and the work they perform is vital for organizational success. The first step in closing the gap is gaining trust through management team building.
Tips that generate management team building to gain employee trust
For more tips on management team building, refer to the following articles:
- The Culture Manager,
- 5 Ways Bosses Earn Employee Trust,
- Performance Management Basics for Small Businesses, and
- When Constructive Criticism Falls on Deaf Ears.
The following management team building tips can help managers perform better within their organizations, and build trust among team members.
Focus on the company’s values. According to The Culture Manager, it is important that managers both understand their companies’ values, as well as teach them to their team members. In order for everyone at the organization to embody these values, managers should be living and exemplifying them.
Bring the company together. Another important part of culture management is focusing on communicating between departments so that team members understand what is going on with the company as a whole. By focusing on one clear and consistent voice throughout the organization, all team members will be on the same page and working toward the same company vision and goals.
Give team members a reason to trust. According to 5 Ways Bosses Earn Employee Trust, five ways that managers can build trust are by:
- Asking for input,
- Giving employees necessary background information,
- Offering employees opportunities,
- Admitting mistakes, and
- Keeping the lines of communication open.
When organizations focus on trust, they are better at achieving key business goals, as well as benefiting from higher profit growth and better financial results.
Provide ongoing feedback. Providing feedback to team members is an extremely important part of management, says Performance Management Basics for Small Businesses. But rather than relying solely on annual reviews, managers need to offer ongoing feedback to their team members, as the issues arise. When managers address and document issues in a timely manner, team members have a better chance to fix their mistakes, and managers are able to follow up later, ensuring that both parties are satisfied.
Know your team members’ goals and aspirations. Part of offering feedback to team members is offering it in a way that resonates with the team member, says When Constructive Criticism Falls on Deaf Ears. If team members do not care about the organization or want to change, then they won’t. So managers need to find a way to relate to their team members and inspire them to want to make the necessary changes.
Invest in self-study programs that help managers build trust with employees. High end coaching programs for mid managers and high potential employees can be cost prohibitive for most organizations. Yet, the training and development of managers has not been consistent in organization. So for those managers who are willing to spend time developing their skills, finding credible and research based programs can be difficult. A self-study program, such as the 6 Principles That Build High Performance Teams Self-Study Leadership Training, on the other hand is a program that was vetted by two independent evaluators over a four 
year period of time and produced measurable change for motivated leaders and improved trust in organizations. With this audio and video program with detailed self coaching handouts, leaders are able to learn and apply behaviors that support trust, interdependence, genuineness, empathy, risk and success in organizations, which improves collaboration in the workplace. Case studies are presented so the concepts are presented from real world outcomes.
Management team building techniques are an important component for leadership success in an organization, and by focusing on the above tips, managers can become better leaders for their organizations while building trust among their team members. The most important thing is to ensure that your training and development initiatives transfer to improved skills and overall workforce productivity.
Copyright TIGERS® Success Series, Inc. by Dianne Crampton
About TIGERS® Success Series
TIGERS Success Series is an Oregon Team Building Consultant and Bend, Oregon Team Building Consultancy that helps leaders build high performance teams.
TIGERS® has a 26 year track record helping leaders build high performance teams and collaborative work cultures that employees love returning to after a couple of days off. We train and certify HRD Executives and other Consultants in the use of TIGERS proprietary organizational development and change resources.
