Trust is essential in any relationship, be it professional or personal. Employees who trust their leaders are more likely to feel engaged, committed and invested in their work. Without this trust, employees may feel disengaged, unmotivated or even disenchanted with their jobs. But building trust in a workplace can be challenging, especially today. With many businesses now practicing hybrid or work-from-home (WFH) models, the nature of interactions between managers and employees has fundamentally changed. As explained in Harvard Business Review, the hindrances of remote work, in conjunction with a turbulent global climate and unsteady job market, have triggered a so-called “crisis of trust.”

How can leaders overcome these sorts of obstacles to build a culture of trust? First, they must understand the four variables that determine our trustworthiness.

Four Elements That Compose Trust

Who do you trust? Your answer to this question may have come easily, but breaking down how exactly we determine our trust is a bit more difficult.

In The Thin Book of Trust: An Essential Primer for Building Trust at Work, business coach Charles Feltman outlines the four variables of trust.

1. Care

Care is established when someone believes you have their best interests in mind. Care is perhaps the most important of the trust-building assessments. If we don’t have the sense that someone respects us on the most basic terms, why would we trust them with anything else?

2. Sincerity

The conviction that a person’s words align with their actions is sincerity. Sincere people are genuine and honest; they talk the talk and walk the walk.

3. Reliability

The third factor is simple; it’s the foundation of work! A reliable person is someone who honors their commitments and promises. In the workplace, reliable employees show up on time, meet their deadlines and take initiative when needed.

4. Competence

Feltman’s final assessment of trust is competence. In the workplace, competence extends past faith in your ability to complete tasks efficiently and correctly—it’s the foresight of knowing what is beyond your abilities and making this known to your team when appropriate.

Once you’ve done some work to establish these four elements, you can nurture your workplace’s culture of trust with the seven strategies below.

1. Lead by example.

Be the employee you wish to see! When leaders hold themselves to the same standards they do their employees, they create a culture of trust and accountability.

These exemplary qualities may differ between individual managers, but “model behavior” generally entails being transparent and honest, honoring commitments and treating everyone with respect and dignity. In doing so, leaders foster a greater sense of care and sincerity among their team.

2. Communicate effectively.

Leaders who communicate effectively demonstrate that they value their employees and are committed to keeping them informed. Effective communication also helps to prevent misunderstandings and conflicts, which both damage trust.

Communication is best when it’s clear, transparent and concise. Honoring your employees’ time heightens their sense of your reliability, too.

Managers should always be willing to listen to their employees and be open to their feedback. Communicate regularly, whether it be through team meetings, one-on-one conversations or email updates. This applies to company information, too—leaders should share both good and bad news and avoid hiding information. Plus, communicating the intent behind your actions as a manager demonstrates care for employees.

3. Empower employees.

When leaders empower employees, they affirm their trust in themselves. Show your sureness in the reliability and competence of your employees by delegating responsibilities, providing opportunities for growth and development and giving them a say in decision-making.

4. Recognize and reward employees.

Recognizing and rewarding employees builds meaningful trust. Employees who feel appreciated and valued are more likely to be engaged and committed to their work, too.

Leaders can recognize and reward employees in a variety of ways, such as by giving public praise, providing bonuses or promotions or offering incentives for high performance. Provide opportunities and design projects that allow employees to showcase their unique skills and talents.

Above all, recognizing and rewarding your employees also fosters a greater sense of trust in themselves, which is just as important as their trust in others.

5. Provide support and resources.

When leaders provide support and resources to employees, their care is felt and greatly appreciated. Leaders can provide support and resources by offering training and development opportunities, access to mentors or coaches, or flexible work arrangements. If employees are struggling with personal or professional challenges, leaders should provide emotional support as well.

6. Encourage collaboration and teamwork.

Create opportunities for your employees to work together on projects or initiatives. Encouraging collaboration and teamwork builds trust by fostering a sense of community and shared purpose. When employees work together, they can assess the trustworthiness of their peers more clearly, too.

7. Be flexible and adaptable.

When leaders are flexible and adaptable, they create an environment where employees feel valued and supported. As a manager, be willing to consider new ideas and approaches. Welcome feedback and make changes when necessary.

Flexibility and adaptability also entail vulnerability. Leaders who are forthright in their limitations encourage transparency in conversations about reliability and competence. Vulnerability also means identifying and addressing instances where trust was lost and doing the difficult but important work of rebuilding it.

Conclusion

As Feltman reminds us, trust is not all or nothing, despite human nature. Sometimes, when we develop the feeling a person is untrustworthy, our confirmation bias causes us to ignore any assessments counter to our judgment, making it difficult to maintain our trust. If we instead compartmentalize trust into its four variables, we see that trust can always be rebuilt.

Though it is an ongoing process, fostering a culture of trust builds a positive workplace culture where employees are engaged and productive and everyone feels valued and supported.