Most executives and business owners strive to be seen as trustworthy in the eyes of employees. That's why discovering this may not be the case among staff members is difficult to come to terms with and potentially harmful from a business standpoint. While there are individuals who will never trust leadership, most leaders can inspire trust among staff in simple, easy-to-implement ways.

10. Keep Your Promises
Avoid over-committing. It’s always better to keep any promises that are made. If something happens to prevent a promise from being kept, make sure there is a good reason, and explain it to staff members.

9. Admit Mistakes
Everyone makes mistakes, even bosses. If a mistake is made, acknowledge it and move on while making an effort to do better in future instances. It's much easier for employees to forgive if you've been honest with them.

8. Keep Confidences
Never promise confidentiality if it isn’t possible for legal and ethical reasons. Making every effort to keep sensitive information under wraps will go a long way towards earning trust and forming even stronger relationships moving foward.

7. Share the Credit
Acknowledging the contributions of others always builds good will. Be an honest and willing advocate for the ideas of others, especially those of peers and subordinates.

6. Be an Open Book
Never do or write anything down that wouldn’t be suitable for the newspapers the next day. Everything comes out eventually; make sure that whatever "comes out" makes you look good.

5. Don’t Gossip
Never talk about others without them being present, unless the subject is positive. Otherwise, other employees and staff will assume that the same might be done to them, at which point you've created an environment in which communication is limited. Additionally, if something positive is said, assume that it will get back to the subject of the conversation. Hopefully, it will make their day.

4. Share the Information
Many leaders feel a need to keep others in the dark about what is going on or being planned. If good information is absent, people assume the worst. Guesswork and watercolor gossip aren’t foundations to build trust on. Give consistent updates and status reports and don’t neglect to explain decisions that may concern staff.

3. Cultivate Relationships
Get to know staff members and make every effort to develop relationships. Taking the time to get to know others and share information is an excellent way to build trust. Also, staff members will be less likely to question motives and will give leadership the benefit of the doubt if issues do come up.

2. Stay Consistent
Ensure messages are consistent. Never say different things to different people, because people share notes. If a sincere change of mind occurs, keep staff updated and explain why.

1. Be a Straight Shooter
Smoke and mirrors are for magic shows, not building trust. If an answer can’t be found, don’t fake it. Admit it, and find a way to uncover relevant answers for staff and subordinates.

Trust is an asset. It takes time to build trust, but the benefits are well worth the effort. Any efforts to build trust may not yield immediate results, but over time the rewards will be apparent.