trust | Journey

T.E.A.M. What Does It Really Mean?

By Job Journey on Wednesday, February 8, 2017

For most workers in the professional world, working in a group setting is the norm and being on your own is unlikely. That means you need to have the skills to be both productive and efficient on a team. But what are the specific skills and attitudes that make someone successful in this common workplace dynamic?

Trust

If you’re new to working as part of a team, there are several things you can do to contribute to the success of the team while building trust.

So how can you start building trust with your new teammates? According to an article from Monster, increasing trust includes avoiding language that focuses on “me” instead of “we,” communicating openly and honestly, and accepting constructive critique.

Additionally, it’s important to keep your word. If you promise to do research for a proposal and have it ready before the deadline, for example, try to have the research completed a week earlier. Building trust can go a long way towards a team’s success.

Energy

Think about the type of co-worker you would like to see in your job. What type of attitude or perspective do they bring to work each day? Is it one of just getting by and doing the bare minimum without much excitement for the work or the goals of the team?

Being part of a team requires energy that can help move the team forward and inspire them to achieve more together than they could ever do on their own. More often than not, the people who bring an energetic spirit to their jobs are the ones who see long-term success.

Accountable

For those who prefer working on their own, one of the challenges to working as part of a team is the issue of accountability. If the only person you’ve ever been accountable to yourself, then a setting where others are counting on you to come through could be tough.

But don’t let this stop you or hold you back. Often, the key to success is the outlook you have on the situation. In this instance, it is helpful to remember that while the team setting may require accountability, it also means you have partners to help accomplish the goal.

Your teammates should be invested in seeing you succeed, because it means they’re more likely to succeed when the team does well.

Mentality

A key element to fitting in with a team is to have the right mentality. That means being positive in the face of tough circumstances, communicating openly about your concerns or hesitations, and being open to constructive criticism that leads to your growth as a professional.

If you were leading a team, what type of people would you want around you? Those with negative attitudes that bring a pessimistic outlook to the job each day, or people who are willing to work together to accomplish a goal while having a joyful and encouraging spirit?

If you’re not already a part of team, it’s very likely that you will at some point in your career, so preparing yourself now is essential for a positive experience.

What other attributes or skills do you think are needed to be successful on a team? Let us know in the comments section.

At Work Career Advancement

How To Use Your Influence to Achieve Success

By Job Journey on Wednesday, January 25, 2017

As the new year begins, many people will reassess their goals for success. To do that, most will lean toward using their influence to achieve success and realize their dreams and goals.

One powerful way to build success in life, both professionally and personally, is through influence. Influence is power, and gaining more influence in the workplace is critical in moving your career forward.

But how can you achieve quantifiable influence? Several strategies can be used to harness this skill and use influence to create success.

Create Trust

Trust creates and carries influence, and gaining the trust of co-workers is one of the fastest ways to use that impact to help cultivate success. Regardless of your position in the company or the position of your co-workers, being open and honest, no matter what the situation, builds a sense of trust.

Leaders who share their concerns, don’t keep secrets, give credit where credit is due, and admit mistakes build influence by being regarded as trustworthy workers.

Learn to Be Assertive

Being assertive enough to speak up during meetings or sharing ideas is another way to build influence and achieve success. However, being assertive and being aggressive are two different things.

To be assertive, present your thoughts and ideas with conviction and confidence. When you go too far with confidence, however, it can be taken as arrogance. When speaking with an unfamiliar group or on areas outside your expertise, be careful to temper your assertiveness with some humility.

Don’t be afraid to apply assertiveness to all areas of life, not just work. As long as conviction and knowledge are present, being assertive can create a reputation of authority, which builds your influence with peers, employees, and customers.

Consistency is Key

Those with influence generally also have the reputation of being consistent as well. Consistency translates to being reliable, and inconsistency is a sure way to ruin a reputation. This means you are known for executing tasks effectively and on time, every day, developing a reputation of reliability.

Consistency is invaluable when it comes to building influence. People flock to those who are known for a good work ethic, while unpredictability can scare and worry those in decision-making positions.

Stay Flexible

Although being assertive is vital to using influence to achieve success, have an open mind to other people’s ideas and be willing to change your opinion when presented with new or different evidence.

Being too stringent or stubborn can create a reputation of being immovable or hard to work with. Others want their opinions and ideas heard as well, and those who are not flexible or open to others’ thoughts lose their overall influence and the respect of co-workers.

Show flexibility while still holding on to core beliefs through calm negotiation or compromise. Work with others to find a mutually acceptable solution. This increases influence because if others perceive someone as being open and flexible to new ideas, they, too, become more open and flexible.

Get a Little Personal

For those in a leadership role, being perceived as easy to get along with and personable goes a long way. Those who isolate themselves or who do not share personal ideas can be perceived as stand-offish or as unapproachable.

Influence, at its heart, is based on others’ reactions and opinions. Influence based on fear or loathing creates a toxic atmosphere, but influence based on likeability and trust is conducive to a successful and collaborative environment.

Personal exchanges with employees and coworkers will help them relate better and feel more comfortable when discussing a new idea. This does not mean building lifelong friendships or betraying secrets, but if other people see an influencer as an approachable person on the team with a real personality, they are likely to be more receptive to constructive criticism.

To be successful this year—whether it’s raising capital, convincing others to support a cause or having more responsibility—influence will be at the center to achieving success. Influence based on trust, consistency, assertiveness, flexibility, and personality will positively steer relationships, careers or resources in the right direction.

Gain influence, and people will follow.

At Work New Job Tips Workplace Relationships

The Boss That Binds: Building Trust With Your Manager

By Jared Cole on Tuesday, February 7, 2012

There are many reasons you could start working with a new boss. You’ve started a new job, and you’re ready to serve your new supervisor. Or maybe a few years into your job, the management shifts and you have to start working for a new team leader. Whatever the reason, there may be a situation where you want to start building trust with a manager.

Unfortunately, trust isn’t earned overnight. Building trust is like growing a flower. It takes time and attention to grow properly, and needs to have strong roots to keep it from toppling over. If just starting out, it can be difficult to find a place to start or know what to do. Take a deep breath and take a look at these three helpful hints to build trust with your boss.

Under Promise and Over Deliver

Too often, new employees are very eager to impress their supervisors by taking on extra responsibilities and tasks in a shorter amount of time. While it does showcase your enthusiasm and drive, you could also set yourself up for failure. If you want your boss to see your strengths and talents in the long run, make obtainable goals for yourself and aim to accomplish more.

When you strive to finish your projects early, you have the opportunity to let your manager review your final product. This way, your boss will see that you are taking an active interest in your manager’s opinions and have the ambition to create better work quality.

Be Open, Honest, and Ready

Your boss may have different managing styles; some are more hands-on while others are more inclined to delegate and expect occasional updates. No matter how your boss works, you should try to match their style. Set up a schedule of updates for your active supervisor. If you have a more hands-off manager, have your accomplishments, plans, and ideas ready for when your boss wants an update. If you’re not sure, try a scheduled 30-minute meeting with your supervisor every week or every other week to make sure you are up to date with each other.

It’s also important to explain challenges or mistakes you’ve made. Mistakes happen and a good manager will understand and work with you to get the job done. That kind of honesty can go a long way in building trust with your boss because you will be known for being honest when asking for feedback and opinions.

Go Beyond the Shift

Take some time to learn more about your boss on a casual basis. Learning more about your manager as a person can help develop a stronger rapport, which can help strengthen communication. By getting to know a manager on a more personal level, trust is built by connecting with their points of interest. Try going out to lunch a few times to get a glimpse of how your boss is outside of work and find out more about them. When the personal connection and trust has been built, ask for feedback during informal meetings. Developing relationships can create more trust with the relationship.

Building trust with your supervisor doesn’t have to be difficult, but it does take time and patience. Trust isn’t something that can be automatically granted. You have to earn it. If you follow these simple tips on how to build that trust, it can happen naturally, and you can become a better employee at the same time. What are some stories of how you and your boss have built trust?

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