Page Title

Building Trust

April 8, 2008

"As a group leader, what can you do to build your group members' trust in you and in each other?  Robert Sevier (2005), senior vice president at the marketing consulting firm Stamats Communications, obeserved that a leader can build trust in these ways:

• Articulate a few important goals
• Meet commitments by doing what you say you are going to do
• Insist on clear, important, and consistent goals
• Be open and fair, and willing to listen (a trait that is good for all group members)
• Be decisive
• Give credit
• Respect the opinions of others
• Empower group members to act (saying "go ahead," and when they do, rewarding them, certainly not reprimanding them). "(London & London, 2007, p.108)

Reference:  London, M., & London, M. (2007).  First-time leaders of small groups: how to create high-performing committees, task forces, clubs, and boards.  San Francisco: John Wiley & Sons.

First-Time Leaders of Small Groups is available on loan from the Ohio State University Leadership Center.  To borrow this resource or any other resource, please go to the resource search page http://164.107.48.88/winnebago/index.asp?lib

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Created: 2008-04-25, Updated: 2009-01-08