The 12 Communication Secrets of Building Trust as a New Leader

Meet A New Leader

A few months ago, one of my clients, Rick, was promoted to VP of Marketing. His new role was full of opportunities to implement some overdue changes. The future was bright except for one thing.

Rick’s 360-degree evaluation — receiving feedback from supervisors, team members, and peers — showed that he lacked genuine relationships with people.

Everyone agreed that Rick was a brilliant change agent, but hadn’t built the trust a great team needs to perform at its potential. As with every team, they needed to see that he was sincerely interested in them, capable of admitting mistakes, and vulnerable enough to ask for feedback.

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Where Does Trust Begin?

When sizing up our leaders, we instinctively look at two dimensions: the human connection (shown by warmth and trustworthiness) and the dimension of strength (which includes competence and fearsomeness).

Which matters most in the beginning? Warmth or Strength?

Research suggests that starting with the human connection is wise. Warmth is the conduit of influence because it facilitates communication and trust. Even a few small nonverbal signals — a nod, a smile, an open gesture  — can show people that you’re pleased to be in their company and attentive to their concerns.

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12 Ways to Gain Trust Through Communication

There are 12 key communication secrets that helped Rick — and will help you build trust as a new leader.

1. Connect with Warmth.

New leaders like Rick, who tend to project strength before establishing trust, run the risk of eliciting fear and, along with it, a host of dysfunctional behaviors.

Fear can undermine cognitive potential, creativity, and problem-solving abilities, causing employees to become stuck and disengage.

Prioritizing warmth helps you connect immediately with those around you, demonstrating that you hear them, understand them, and can be trusted.

2. Ask Open-Ended Questions.

Rick wanted to hit the ground running. He was sure he knew all the answers and couldn’t wait to share his plans.

“Know-it-all-ness” is the most common mistake new leaders make – to rush in and treat the department as though it’s broken. They begin telling, not asking. Teammates resent the implication that they’ve been “doing it wrong,” and they rebel by not engaging in the new plan.

After Rick understood the downsides of telling before asking, he dove right into asking open-ended questions, such as “What is holding this team back from reaching our full potential?” and “What are we doing well, and should we continue doing?” By asking, he earned his trust and discovered his new teammates had great ideas.

3. Be Present and Pay Attention.

In his previous role, Rick excelled at completing many tasks. He had become skilled at doing several things simultaneously, such as responding to messages from anywhere.

But the job of a leader is to get results through other people, and when Rick attempted to check his inbox while one of his direct reports shared a suggestion, it sent a loud message of disrespect. He learned that by putting his phone down when interacting with his team members, he created a greater trust by listening and without saying a word.

When people know you listen deeply, they will trust you. Practicing presence in everyday interactions can help close the team’s communication gaps.

4. Be Vulnerable.

Rick enjoyed talking about his accomplishments. As a new leader, he would have to embrace a different approach. He would have to learn humility, such as sharing with his teammates the lessons he had learned the hard way and what he had learned about his shortcomings.

Leaders who don’t reveal their humanness will struggle to lead a high-performance team. We all want leaders who can be genuine with us and share what life has taught them — leaders who can be vulnerable.

5. Let People See You Learn.

One of the fastest ways to lose trust is to pretend you already have all the answers. New leaders often feel pressure to appear confident and decisive, but people respect honesty more than they admire perfection. When you openly acknowledge what you’re still learning, you model humility and authenticity, which in turn creates space for others to do the same.

You might say:

• “That’s a great question. Let me look into it and follow up.”
• “I’m still getting up to speed on that part of the process. Can you walk me through it?”

These simple statements do more than fill knowledge gaps. They show your team that you are open, transparent, and willing to grow. Over time, that kind of honesty builds a deeper foundation of trust than forced confidence ever could.

6. If Not the What, Then the How.

Often, a change in leadership occurs because there’s a change needed in an organization, and that was the case with Rick’s team. Without new processes, they were going to lose business to their competitors. A change in processes meant that his direct reports would need to adjust their operating procedures.

In other words, what had already been decided: process improvements. The way Rick created buy-in was to give them some input on the how. For example, he mapped out a vision of what success looked like.

Rick also gave them a chance to provide input on how to get there. Some innovative ideas surfaced, and he incorporated several of them into his strategic plan, building trust while he did it.

7. Be Yourself.

At first, Rick felt that he needed to create an image of a leader who operated independently of his team. However, his teammates wanted him to be a personable and approachable leader. He learned that the idea is to recognize the genuine aspects of himself and allow them to shine through to his teammates. Rick also discovered the value of kicking back occasionally and having a laugh.

8. Acknowledge Teammates and Give Them Credit

People need more than a paycheck to be engaged. High performers, in particular, need appreciation for their contributions.

Within a few months, Rick’s team had implemented several process improvements, driving significant results. Rick’s initial instinct was to take credit for his team’s work — after all, he is the boss, right?

Nothing squashes trust more quickly than taking credit when others did the heavy lifting. Instead, Rick publicly gave the team credit and reinforced their behavior. He motivated them to achieve even more results, and they trusted that they’d receive recognition for their efforts.

If you want the best from people, provide positive feedback on their strengths and talents. The perfect time to do this is public speaking at a company-wide event.

9. Care About Well-being.

Leaders are responsible for developing environments that allow teammates to thrive, so they must recognize the signs of employee burnout, dissatisfaction, and poor physical health to support overall well-being.

What is well-being? Gallup breaks it down into these key elements: solid and supportive relationships, fulfilling work, financial security, physical health, and community involvement. These are the indicators of whether or not someone is thriving.

Initially, Rick liked the idea of his direct reports being available 24/7 and working weekends. However, he soon discovered that when employees are happy, fulfilled, and well-rested, they are more trusting, engaged, and motivated to work hard, resulting in increased productivity and improved customer satisfaction.

10. Welcome Ideas.

We like and trust leaders who are not threatened by people who speak their minds to offer value.

Amateur leaders become defensive when confronted with a difference in opinion, which is the kiss of death. People lose all respect for someone who argues when faced with an honest disagreement.

The best communicators ask, “I’m interested in what you think,” and “Tell me more about that.”

11. Be Clear About What You Stand For.

When people don’t know what matters to you, they fill in the blanks. As a new leader, one of the most powerful things you can do is communicate your values early and often. Let your team know what guides your decisions, how you define success, and what kind of culture you want to help create.

You don’t need to deliver a speech. Often, it’s as simple as weaving your values into conversations:

• “What matters most to me is collaboration, not competition.”
• “I believe in direct communication, even when it’s uncomfortable.”
• “I want this to be a place where people feel safe asking questions.”

By grounding your leadership in clear, consistent values, you create alignment. And alignment builds trust.

12. Keep Promises.

As a new leader, Rick felt pulled in all directions as he gathered input from many stakeholders. He had the best intentions, but began feeling like there wasn’t enough time in the day, and some of his early promises slipped away. The result was inconsistent interactions.

Rick learned that he had to create calendar reminders for due dates for the un-delegatable tasks. He also learned to delegate more often when developing direct reports. He’s gradually earning trust back as he follows through on his commitments.

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Why Should You Build Trust?

Building trust as a new leader is crucial for your team’s success. Warmth and human connection are key factors in gaining trust, and these 12 communication practices can help you achieve this.

These practices include connecting with warmth, asking open-ended questions, being present and paying attention, being vulnerable, letting people see you learn, focusing on the how, being yourself, acknowledging and giving credit to your teammates, caring about their well-being, welcoming ideas, being clear about what you stand for, and keeping promises.

As a leader, it’s essential to prioritize warmth over strength to establish trust and create an environment where your team can perform at their best.