Building Trust for First-Time Managers

Congratulations and welcome to the exciting and challenging role of a manager! I hate to break the bad news, but here are two inevitable issues you are about to face in your new role: Your team doesn't trust you. You are dealing with a low-trust organization. The first issue is given. Even if you've worked as a team member with your colleagues from Day One, once you get promoted, the situation resets itself. You are now "the boss," and, as you are well aware, there's something universal about employees' animosity toward an authority figure. Former friends that used to "break bread with you" turn into foes overnight. Consequently, such a level of distrust, personal resentment, and defiance immediately affects the team's performance. It's a behavioral pattern of a group you simply cannot avoid. However, the severity of the second issue is something you need to analyze in the shortest time possible, especially if you are a newcomer and still not familiar with the routines and habits of your organization, your team, and the individuals within. The problem exists; make no mistake. And it is expected of you to fix it - yesterday. As a first-time manager, you will never get a second chance to make a good first impression on your team. Therefore, once you step into your new role, you want to be sure that you are well-prepared and utterly confident that you can earn the trust of your employees as a prerequisite for your success as the manager. In the years preceding authoring this book, I had the rare privilege to coach and consult an extensive line of managers and executives in different industries on their journeys toward building high-trust organizations. They were all facing the same challenge you are facing now - reversing inherited zero growth and low profitability with limited experience. This book will help you crack the trust code using strategies that have been proven to yield exceptional results for managers of all levels and age groups. Based on case studies and extensive research, the book provides actionable steps to facilitate trust-building within your team, navigate tough conversations, improve diversity and inclusion, and much more! Buckle in. Your management career begins NOW!