Niccolò Machiavelli once said, “It is better to be feared than to be loved, if one cannot be both." He argued that fear was a better motivator for others than love, which is why he believed that fear was a more effective tool for leaders.

The most important relationships for you to build as a leader are the ones with your own team. No two relationships will be the same, but they will all have one thing in common; trust.

If your staff do not trust you, they do not believe that you will lead them where they wish to go, whether that is by fear or by love.

According to research published in the Harvard Business Review, trust has a major impact on employees and employers. They reported that workers at high-trust companies said they had:

• 74% less stress

• 106% more energy

• 50% higher productivity

• 13% fewer sick days

• 76% more engagement

• 29% more life satisfaction and

• 40% less burnout.

"Small talk creates rapport, big talk creates legacies."

Anthea Armar

Building trust doesn’t involve asking your employees about their weekend and offering them a coffee in the morning. It goes much deeper than that.

Authenticity is the key to building trust as it will give you an opportunity to learn to engage with each of your employees and enable them to learn you, your values and your vision. These are signs of true leadership.

How can I build authentic relationships with my staff?

You have to decide that you want to create positive professional relationships with your staff, expecting nothing in return. Use these five tips to elevate your leadership and start strengthening the foundation of your team, which will naturally boost morale, efficiency and overall success.

1. Listen attentively

Active listening is one of the essential keys to success and building connection with others.

By listening and giving employees plenty of opportunities to express their views, without judgment, your staff will be more willing to share thoughts and ideas.

Stay visible and keep your door, or calendar, open as much as possible to show that you are available to listen. Listen with an open mind and act on useful suggestions.

Listening promotes more openness within the team and with you, as they will not be fearing reprimand.

2. Be inclusive

Celebrate diversity and respect individual differences.

The benefit of diversity is the variety of perspectives and experiences each individual brings. This is useful during idea generation, problem solving, decision making and ensuring that everyone is being considered.

Build a culture where each team member feels like they belong because they can see they are represented. Examine your company’s policies and practices, as well as your own personal bias and seek support if needed.

3. Exchange feedback

Employees are more engaged when they receive ongoing guidance rather than waiting for annual performance reviews. Let them know how well they’re doing and where they need to grow. Make your feedback timely and specific.

If you need to provide criticism, ensure it is constructive.

Consider offering three key areas of feedback once you have explained where some of the challenges lie;

• Something they have done well / excelled at;

• A recommendation for improvement and

• An area they could challenge themselves in.

This will help them know they are doing well and understand how to make improvements as well as how to take their knowledge, skills or behaviour to the next level.

4. Ask for help

A wise leader knows they have to collaborate with others to be successful and that doesn’t mean seeking advice from their peers or above.

Turning to your team to share information, ask for advice, explore ideas and delegate responsibilities enables them to feel included, trusted and able to contribute to the wider organisation.

Call in outside expertise when you are dealing with issues beyond your scope. This is a great opportunity for you to be mentored and increase your leadership potential and advance in your career, as well as resolve current challenged.

5. Express appreciation

Be generous with sincere praise and congratulations. Not because you have to.

Feeling appreciated increases happiness as your employees will believe that the time and effort, they put into each day, is worthwhile.

Outside of verbal appreciation during feedback, you can write thank you notes and hand out awards, so your staff can build their own accolades.

Free food and time off can also be gratifying!

"Share to inspire, not to boast."

Anthea Armar

Your Authentic Relationships in Leadership Checklist

Building individual relationships to strengthen your team, promote a more positive culture and inspire success can be achieved through its people:

• Listen attentively - creating time in your day / week to have conversations with your staff and listen to their ideas, challenges and opinions will allow you to understand them, their aspirations and how they can contribute to your team.

• Be inclusive - learning from others with different perspectives and creating a culture of belonging will help your staff to thrive and feel represented in all areas of the team and business.

• Exchange feedback - providing ongoing opportunities for guidance will encourage your staff to improve and challenge themselves, whilst taking pride in the areas they are doing well in. This removes the anxiety during the build up towards annual performance reviews.

• Ask for help - delegating tasks and collaborating with your team for ideas, opinions and problem-solving releases the pressure off of you and empowers your staff to contribute to the success of the organisation in unexpected ways. Seeking external help is a sign of strength, not weakness.

• Express appreciation - nothing can be done alone. Show your staff they are appreciated in what they are paid to do, as well as what they go above and beyond to do. Providing incentives can also introduce some healthy competition.

Conclusion

Your staff will follow you wherever you lead them, as long as they can see and believe in you and the vision you paint for them.

Feeling appreciated on a regular basis, with clear guidance on how to improve and challenge themselves, will empower them to do their jobs more efficiently, without the stress, anxiety and lack of engagement.

If you build trust within your team, working collectively, you can create more success within your organisation, which each individual can proudly acknowledge their role in.

To be a transformational leader, you need others to lead and they will only follow if you have built their trust.

Want to dive deeper?

Amarkai Group coaches and trains leaders, individuals and teams to build the skills and awareness they need to be successful. Our approach is based on understanding your unique style and adapting our coaching to fit your needs.

Transformational Leadership coaching with Amarkai Group

Our focus is on developing trust, inclusion and appreciation, so that you and your team can reach their potential. We offer a variety of coaching and training programmes that are tailored to your specific needs. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help you achieve your goals.

Other resources to help you develop better working relationships