Building trust quickly is almost impossible
The most effective people leaders are the ones who are trusted. And if you’re employees trust you, it can make your job a lot easier. But how can you build that trust quickly? Sometimes it takes… exceptional circumstances.
I had just become a department head, and I inherited a trust issue with one of my employees. She hadn’t gotten along with her previous manager and she felt unsupported by the organization.
Around that time, she needed to take some time off for a mental health issue, so she went on short-term disability leave. That required a doctor’s note.
This was before smartphones and PDFs, so she mailed it in—along with her monthly expenses—but she didn’t tell me it was coming.
So I open the expense envelope, file the receipts and toss the envelope into the bin. I wasn’t expecting anything else
A day later, I get a call, asking if I got her doctor’s note
And that’s when it hit me.
The note was gone.
Admitting my mistake
Now I’ve got a decision to make. I can either blame her for not telling me the note was coming, OR I can own my mistake and try to fix it.
I told her exactly what had happened.
I said the envelope was gone, but that I’d go to the bin out back and try to find it, which is what I did.
What I didn’t know was that while I was out there, this employee phoned a friend to check up on me to see if I was doing what I said I’d do.
Now. I didn’t find the note, and I was expecting the employee to be livid.
But she wasn’t.
She actually chuckled and thanked me for diving in the dumpster for her.
And just like that, something shifted.
From that point on, the trust issue between us dissapeared. That awkward moment actually built our relationship.
Now, I’m not suggesting you need to go dumpster diving for every employee.
But I am saying this: trust is built on honesty, empathy, and keeping your word.
And when you show all three… people notice.
Looking to build trust within your teams? Check out my suite of Awkward Leader Leadership Keynote Talks