Building trust: How leaders can engender feelings of trust among followers

Trust has long been recognized across cultures, industries, and organizations as a key component of social exchange. Yet in many communities and organizations throughout the world, there is a growing trust deficit. In this article, we explore what leaders can do to generate trust among the individuals within their organizations to help facilitate better relationships and positive outcomes for both individuals and organizations. More specifically, we present a qualitative study in which semistructured interviews with employees at an assisted-living care facility highlight two ways that leaders can build trust within their organizations: (1) by demonstrating humility in their communication and (2) by exhibiting compassion in their behavior. We further highlight two characteristics, authenticity and proactivity, that can help leaders increase the effectiveness of these actions. By making these behaviors part of how they lead, leaders and managers can more successfully generate feelings of trust among the individuals within their organizations and help their organizations to maintain and strengthen their competitive advantage.