Why is Trust in Leadership important?

Diversity and inclusion have been more of a focus the last few years, but an organizational commitment to promote a diverse and inclusive culture is predicated by a climate of trust – especially trust in leadership. “For many years, it’s been about having diversity represented. The way to get from diversity to inclusion is to build trust along the way,” says Tina Jaynes, Executive Vice President of Inclusity. “Trust is a foundational piece to get us from diversity to inclusion, and without an environment of trust, diversity can’t thrive.”

Every organization wants its employees to feel empowered to bring their authentic selves to work. Fostering trust and trust in leadership are key to provide that sense of safety so people can be authentic. When we feel safe, we feel comfortable to open up and expose vulnerabilities. Without trust and psychological safety, employees will struggle to talk about key issues like bias and race in their organizations. But trust doesn’t just happen – you have to earn it! Knowing is only half the battle; leaders must work on themselves, their behaviors and actions to create a culture of trust amongst employees and the workplace in general.

We put a short list of behaviors that leaders can focus on to begin the process of building trust in leadership. Adopting these characteristics can help foster a culture of trust and achieve inclusion, diversity, and equity (IDE) goals, and start you and your company on the path to becoming a more inclusive workplace.

How to Leverage Trust in Leadership to Strengthen Inclusion

Be Vulnerable: Being vulnerable doesn’t imply weakness, over-sharing, or violating professional boundaries. It means being open to potential criticism, trying something new and making a mistake, or allowing your approach to be questioned.

Be Authentic: To be authentic means that you are truly showing up as yourself. Being authentic creates psychological safety in the workplace. People tend to trust you when they believe they are interacting with the real you, and are more likely to feel safe enough to be their own authentic self, allowing them to express thoughts and feelings that can be new and exciting!

Be Courageous: In a trusting work environment, you need to have the courage to share your flaws and accept the flaws of others without judgment. Courage is inspiring – there’s a reason so many books, movies and stories are based on courage. By being courageous and practicing courageous inclusion, you can create a culture that many employees dream of.

Be Empathetic: Empathy, the ability to imagine what someone else might be thinking or feeling, is an indispensable skill needed to build trust with employees. The key to empathetic leadership is being willing to understand how another person may experience an event or situation without passing judgment or making assumptions, allowing them to feel safe and understood.

Be Curious: Being curious is foundational to creating an environment where people feel valued and really believe that you have a true interest in them and their point of view. Curiosity is one of the most important foundational behaviors of inclusive leaders; it leads to connection, innovation and creating a sense of belonging not just in the workplace, but in life itself.

If you’re intentional about building it, trust can blossom into authentic relationships and a deeper embrace of diverse, inclusive, and equitable workplaces. As we’ve mentioned before, however, any change in culture must start at the top. That’s why trust in leadership is so important; we must lead by example to create the environment we wish to see. Learn more about our inclusion practice, which can help you foster greater psychological safety and trust in your organization.

Inclusity starts each inclusion training session with a “connection.” This is more than just a euphemism for those (sometimes-corny) ice breaker activities that add levity to a workshop, if little substance.

Often our connection exercises ask participants to introspect (to connect with themselves, if you will). Then comes the sharing and listening to each other, which is where the real connections start to be forged. We reveal our humanness, acknowledge our diversity, and, most importantly, realize our similarities — where we connect.

“We connect people first, as opposed to focusing on differences first,” says Maria Arcocha White, CEO and founder of Inclusity. “We start the conversation around what is common for them; that builds trust, that enables conversation, and that facilitates communication.”

In an increasingly disconnected world (in spite of the ubiquity of technological connections), these in-person activities are vital.

“Connection is important,” writes Ken and Scott Blanchard in Fast Company. “People who feel connected to their leader are more likely to feel good about their jobs, stay with the organization, and act in ways that support it. Without connection, people feel out of the loop. This leads to isolation, a lack of well-being, and possible disengagement.”

Inclusity fosters connections to deepen people’s awareness and build foundations for inclusive cultures. “Our approach brings people together, and then once we bring them together, it’s way easier to talk about the differences,” says Arcocha White. “Ninety-eight percent of people on this earth are well-intentioned, good-hearted people who want to have good relationships and want to be successful in the workplace. But they just don’t know how to deal with difference effectively.”

She adds: “When people feel heard, valued and that they belong, they engage and contribute to their maximum potential.”   

People can experience Inclusity’s positive approach to inclusion and diversity training at a Conscious Inclusion workshop. The three-hour workshop’s discussions and interactive activities help participants understand and recognize unconscious bias and how it affects culture and business productivity. Participants will then learn practical tips to be more intentionally inclusive.

It “opened eyes to things happening everyday, and now I feel in a better place to handle them,” one past participant shared. Another commented: “I have attended many diversity and inclusion workshops, and this was by far the most engaging and beneficial.”

Inclusity facilitates Conscious Inclusion workshops at businesses and organizations across the country. Talk to us if this sounds like it might be a good fit for your organization or if another inclusion and diversity training program could work for you. We’re holding a public Conscious Inclusion workshop in Indianapolis on Oct. 15 from 9 a.m. to noon, if you are interested in participating, click here or call 317-716-7678.