How New Executives Can Build Trust Organizationwide: 15 First Steps

When you step into a new executive leadership role, one of the most important things you’ll need to do is quickly establish trust with people within your organization. Without trust, even the best strategies and initiatives can struggle to gain traction.

Below, our founder Kathy Shanley joins 14 members of Forbes Coaches Council to suggest essential first steps brand-new leaders can take to set the tone of their relationships with employees at every level. From actively listening to team concerns to demonstrating transparency in decision-making, taking these first steps can help you build essential trust from day one.

One step new leaders can take to quickly establish trust is to model vulnerability. Despite being new, consider sharing any fears—such as not knowing processes and procedures–about your role and enlist help in overcoming them. Encourage open conversations about what’s going well and what’s keeping the team up at night. This openness can put you on the pathway to a culture of trust. - Kathleen Shanley, Statice