Integrity: Co-Worker and Boss Trust

Posted In: Soft Skills
Posted On: 6/15/2015


As a reminder, this was the number one strong skills attribute that business leaders are looking for in their millennial hire. (If you didn’t read Part I in this series, please note that I have officially renamed soft skills.  Say hello to strong skills).

So how do you show you have integrity as a core competency when you are starting your new job?  It starts with building a foundation of trust with your co-workers and your bosses. 

Co-worker Trust

When you start a new job, don’t take the wrong tact and immediately set your sights on the boss and only the boss.  What you will find surprising is that your co-workers (and eventually subordinates) will have as much influence on your career as your boss.  How could that be?  Doesn’t the boss dole out performance reviews and raises? Sure, but you will find that success in business is NOT an individual activity but instead a team sport.  Like in sports, individuals can and will shine based on their own performance.  But the overall success of the team will greatly contribute to how YOUR success is viewed.

So where to start?  Here are five simple things to do that will build trust with your co-workers:

  1. Ask for Help.  I know we all want to be super heroes, but the truth is that most of us can’t do everything and do it right.  This is especially true when you are new to a job and a company.  It is not a sign of weakness to ask others to give you guidance.  In fact, most of us LIKE someone to ask for our advice.  Action: Think of a topic where you do not have an expertise, identify the person that does, and solicit their guidance.
  2. Ask to Help.  Everyone loves a co-worker who is willing to jump in and help out with an assignment that is outside of his/her “to do” list.  It shows initiative and intellectual curiosity.  Action: Look around the office and see who is working later than everyone else. Check in and offer up your time to help tem complete their task.
  3. Do Your Part.  Think about a team project in college where you were put with four other people that you didn’t know and probably didn’t like.  Somehow you had to get it together to get that great team grade.  The same thing happens in the business world.  No one likes a laggard on the team.  Action: Make sure you are meeting deadlines and producing high quality work that makes the whole team look good. 
  4. Share Credit.  Don’t try to steal the limelight!  In my experience, humbleness will go a very long way in gaining the trust of those you work with.  Action:  Recognize your team members and their contributions when you are meeting with the boss, both privately and publicly.  
  5. Get to Know Them.  People trust people when they know more about them and their interests. It makes you seem more real when your co-workers know that you have interests outside of work.  It creates a three-dimensional you when you share about your enthusiasm for yoga, your dogs or your art class.  Action: Grab a coffee with someone on your team once a week and just talk about life outside of the office.

Boss Trust

It is a bit simpler with bosses because you generally won’t work with them quite as closely or get to know them quite as personally as a co-worker.  These are the key things that give me confidence that I can trust an employee.

  1. Do What You Say You Will Do.  Meet your deadlines and complete your work as promised.  This is the starting point for creating a trust bond with me.  If, for some reason, you can’t deliver as promised, let me know!  Maybe you don’t have all the skills to do the job or perhaps I don’t understand how long it will take.  Have a discussion with me about that so we can both be clear on what to expect and when to expect it.
  2. Show Initiative.  I trust people who show that they have a desire to do more than asked.  This signals to me that you are interested in doing a great job and interested in seeing the company succeed.  This doesn’t mean you have to be a martyr and work 24x7.  It means that you see opportunities in the company and you want to be part of making things happen.
  3. Play Well With Others.  I want to see that you contribute to the team’s success, not just your own.  I want to know that others want to work with you and that you are not just an individual contributor. 

Final Thought

I love this quote from Warren Buffet:  "It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it."  If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.

It all starts with trust.  Which morphs into your integrity.

Get working on your first strong skill.  

Next up: five guest blog posts featuring ten of my colleagues:

  • Integrity: Will You Do What You Say You Will Do?
  • Integrity: Practical Applications
  • Integrity: Being Tested 
  • Integrity: How It Plays Out in a Company
  • Integrity: A Millennial’s POV