Written by: Catherine Elizabeth Wood, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
Trust in the workplace drives motivation which leads to increased employee performance. When there is trust, the brain-friendly neurochemical oxytocin is released. This builds social cognition, learning and cooperation, and increases empathy and psychological safety.
Where there are high levels of oxytocin, there are high levels of trust. Research tells us oxytocin seems to reduce the fear of trusting a stranger. It is also useful to know a high level of stress is an oxytocin inhibitor that prevents us from interacting effectively with others.
As a leader, you can learn how to foster trust in the workplace.
Brain science tells us about 8 behaviours that foster trust in the workplace. Therefore, if you understand and incorporate these behaviours into your leadership approach, you will increase the level of trust in your organisation.
1. Reward and recognition
When employees are in a trusting environment where they can communicate and collaborate, and they are socially appreciated and recognised for their work, they will see value in what they do. When employees are rewarded and recognised for the value they bring, their esteem is satisfied.
Employees who are recognised by leaders for their work which has enabled the organisation to meet larger goals, feel aligned. These employees also have a sense of self-actualisation for being able to contribute to the success of an organisation, which motivates them further.
Consider how you reward and recognise employees for the value they bring to the team and organisation.
2. Challenging and achievable
When employees are assigned a challenging but achievable goal, the moderate level of stress from carrying out the task, releases neurochemicals that intensify focus and strengthen social connections.
The activity in the brain coordinates behaviours efficiently when team members need to work together to achieve a goal. However, this brain activity only happens when goals are attainable as well as having a concrete endpoint. If the direction on completing challenges is vague or the challenge is impossible to achieve, employees will give up before they start. The progress towards goals needs to be regularly assessed by the leader and adjusted if the goal is either too easy or too difficult to achieve. If a goal is too easy to achieve, the employees will experience boredom, they will be distracted and they will not achieve the goal. If a goal is too difficult, the employees will give up because the goal is too challenging and will not achieve the goal.
Consider how to determine if the goals you assign to your team are challenging yet achievable with a concrete endpoint.
3. Autonomy and control
A big motivator for employees is when they are trusted to figure things out by themselves, that is, employees, having greater control over how they work. When employees try different ways of doing things, this promotes innovation. Sharing ideas of what worked and what didn’t work during the experimental phase, is key to building on the team’s success.
Consider how you will encourage creativity and experimentation in employees over how they work.
4. Interesting and rewarding
Allowing employees to work on tasks and projects which align with what is most important to them, their values, will result in highly productive employees who stay working with an organisation for many years.
There needs to be accountability for interesting and rewarding projects, as well as setting and clarifying expectations for each. At the end of a project, there needs to be an evaluation to measure the contribution of each employee.
Consider how you will encourage employees to join projects which seem interesting and rewarding to them, yet still hold them accountable.
5. Clear and consistent
Keeping employees informed about the organisation’s goals, strategies, and tactics is important to ensure there is openness which results in certainty. This will help to avoid chronic stress due to the uncertainty of the direction in an organisation. Chronic stress inhibits the release of oxytocin and undermines teamwork.
You will increase employee engagement by communicating where an organisation is headed and why.
Consider how you can share information across the team/organisation efficiently to drive certainty.
6. Build connections
Research tells us that employee performance increases when employees intentionally build social connections at work. Leaders need to express their interest in their team and concern for their success and personal wellbeing, for teams to thrive. When connections are built and the team cares about each team member, performance increases because the employees do not want to let each other down.
Consider how you will encourage the building of connections in the workplace.
7. Holistic approach
Personal development and professional development are incorporated into high-trust organisations. Investing in the whole person has a powerful impact on engagement and retention. Therefore, exploring the employees’ goals across their health, family, career and so on, will help employees to assess their personal growth alongside their professional development with a sense of autonomy to reach their goals.
Consider how you will invest in employees with a whole-person approach.
8. Ask for help
To increase trust and cooperation in employees, leaders can ask for help and show their vulnerability. When leaders show their vulnerability and ask for help, this stimulates oxytocin levels in employees. A sign of a secure leader is asking for someone else’s help. Leaders need to engage with everyone to achieve the goal.
Consider how you will show vulnerability as a leader.
To learn how you can incorporate the behaviours that foster trust in your organisation, view the details about my Leadership Coaching Membership, ALIGN ADAPT ADVANCE at www.LifeRenewal.com.au
Catherine Elizabeth Wood, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Catherine Wood, is a leader in mental resilience, science-based coaching through neuroscience, and creating new habits for behavior change. After an acute brain injury as an adult left her having irrational thoughts and self-doubt, Catherine developed an interest in neuroplasticity to understand how she could challenge her self-beliefs, promote helpful thoughts and create new habits for behavior change. Catherine has since dedicated her life to helping people to establish their self-belief in who they are as their best self to drive helpful thoughts and create new habits for behavior change in the workplace and in their personal life. Catherine is the Founder of Life Renewal, the online coaching business combining leadership coaching and team coaching with evidence-based techniques in neuroscience. Catherine helps leaders drive employee engagement by modeling leadership behavior across 7 key leadership skills. Catherine has helped clients through her own coaching programs, workshops, and digital courses including "Mastering Emotional Competence in Leadership." Catherine has been a guest writer for Thrive Global which included an article on "Seeking Opportunities While Navigating Uncertainty", and she hosted a resilience series including "The Neuroscience of Resilience". Catherine's mission: Science-based coaching for collaborative leadership behavior.
