Playing a team sport means not being involved in every big play. You trust your teammates to do their job when it’s their turn. Giving up a part of the control of a situation, because no single person can do it all themselves, is how a communal effort gets accomplished. A good team doesn’t hope for internal trust, it’s built on it. Build trust among your team to maximize your overall potential.

Only 40% of workers said they have a high level of trust in their individual bosses, or in their organization as a whole.

Do your employees trust each other? Do they trust you?  The level of trust between coworkers and management can magnify the power of a team or can crumble it. Learn to build the right team the right way, around a common trust. Find superior performance and frankly, more enjoyment with a cohesive interlocking team with these 5 tips. 

Mean what you say, say what you mean

Arbitrary deadlines, empty threats and promises full of hot air will leave your word worthless. Be realistic, direct and truthful. 64% of employed adults feel their organization treats them fairly, however, 1 in 3 reported that their employer is not always honest and truthful with them. If you assign a task, follow through and take action if the deadline is not hit. If you are not going to buy a health plan for you employees, don’t say you are and get their hopes up.

 Let go of the reins 

Nothing reveals a level of distrust more than micromanaging. Confidence and employee buy-in comes from ownership of work. Learn it, own it, love it. 68% of employees say micromanagement decreases morale. Take a step back to show your employees you hired them to think, not to carelessly go through the motions.

“In most cases being a good boss means hiring talented people and then getting out of their way.”

― Tina Fey, Bossypants

Be there when it goes awry

Good managers are cheerleaders when everything goes swimmingly, but what makes a great manager is going to bat for an employee when something goes bad. When there is a mistake made, a deadline missed or just a ball dropped. If a manager cannot be there for the employee when they have not batted 1000, the employee is going to lose confidence when faced with a similar decision.

“Where micromanaging gets the knock is it gives the impression that you have one person doing everything, which couldn’t possibly be effective or efficient—it makes it sound like you have no trust or faith in your employees,” Ted Karkus, CEO of ProPhase Labs

Give honest feedback

How can an employee respect your praise if you cannot give real criticism? 89% of employees wish managers would be direct in giving feedback. Reasonable humans expect construction when missing the mark, and praise when outperforming. How else can we grow? Occasional but sincere praise from a tough and demanding boss means more than constant laudation from a yes man.

“The emphasis in recent years on employee wellness is a step in the right direction, but the épsychological factors are often overlooked,” says David W. Ballard, head ofAPA’s Center for Organizational Excellence. “It’s clear that an organizational culture that promotes and supports openness, honesty, transparency and trust is key to a healthy, high-performing workplace.”

Design better teams

Know your employees. Know who is good at what, who is not the best at what and who can work the best together. Taking an objective stance outside of the situation pretending that everyone is equal and works great together doesn’t help anybody. Knowing that your manager has the feel for employees a level below can create a sense of understanding and ‘on-the-same-page-ness’.

“The best way to find out if you can trustsomebody is totrust them.” – Ernest Hemingway

Bio: Ryan Mead

Ryan Mead is the CEO and Founder of Vitru, an employee assessment tool that provides recruiters, hiring professionals, coaches and managers with the insights they need to manage their teams and make better hiring decisions. Powered by science, yet practical and easy to use for a variety of teams, Vitru work for organizations of all size. Want to learn more? Visit our blog or sign up for a free team building personality test account to assess your team today! Tweet me at@GoVitru