Building Trust While Starting A New Job

Trustworthiness is a combination of competence and warmth. Great leaders are loved and respected, but also feared at the same time.

One has to strike the right balance between love and fear to appear authentic, vulnerable and credible. To start things off, be compassionat...

Virtual teams and WFH policies have complicated and muddled the communication that happens in a physical office. We need to provide remote team members with the benefit of the doubt while interpreting their behaviour. There is much less context to access what is meant by their words and actions.

A strong foundation of trust needs to be laid as early as possible. Create a ‘shield of goodwill’ to minimize any miscommunication.

Building trust will ensure that even if there is ambiguity, the words and actions are coming with good intentions.

One can take cues from how coworkers trust each other by their body language, the way they interact on Slack, or how relaxed and casual they are around each other.

If help is sought after, and clarifications are prompt, even during virtual (Zoom calls) environments, one can gauge the leve...

1. Talk about one’s upbringing, hardships and personal history, while keeping it work-appropriate. Getting to know people on a personal level builds trust and connections, as they see a human being and not just a new employee.
2. Ask for help whenever possible. It shows vulnerability and...

Trust makes us feel psychologically safe at the workplace. One can focus on creative, collaborative work where there is a free flow of ideas and everyone is benefiting from each other’s energy. One can freely ask for support, test new ideas, and be oneself without any fear of judgement.

Communication is the magic key for building trust. Body language, expressions, tone are all important.

1. Speak in a calm, soothing voice.
2. Make sure that the atmosphere is cheerful and smile whenever possible.
3. Do not smile with raised eyebrows, as it l...