Building Trust is Key to Business Success - by Susan West

Building Trust is Key to Business Success - by Susan West: "The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines trust as 'assured reliance on the character, ability, strength, or truth of someone or something'. In the real world, trust means different things to different people but it usually boils down to one thing: trust is critical to your success, both personally and professionally.

Our focus here is trust as a key to business success. It takes many forms during your various interactions with others, but it is always there, just under the surface, influencing and affecting your work and your leadership effectiveness. Building and maintaining trust is crucial because when it is there it helps you, but when it is not, it hurts you.

Trust and your employees
Building trust with your employees means demonstrating every day that they can depend on you. It happens in small ways, like supporting a person�s efforts toward professional development or advocating for your department�s ongoing needs. It also happens in big ways, like maintaining employee confidentiality and communicating honestly about company issues. When there is mutual trust between you and your employees, performance improves."