Building trust - it is particularly important in interim management to gain the trust of employees quickly. Employees want to be convinced that the new manager is a reliable and dependable person who will guide them through a challenging phase in the company if necessary. They want to trust. But how do you create trust?
How do people measure reliability and dependability?
Employees and superiors have expressed or unspoken expectations of a new manager, by which they measure reliability and dependability. It is therefore worth discussing and clarifying expectations, ideas and very specific goals with the people concerned before and right at the start of a new ad interim mandate. This calls for interim managers who listen, ask questions when things are unclear, show respect for their new employees and also provide feedback on what they have heard and understood.
It is not enough to simply clarify the factual objectives. Employees and line managers have expectations as to how they want to work and interact with the new ad interim employee. For many, it is difficult to formulate these expectations. At such a time, it is the task of the interim manager as the line manager to clarify these expectations in a discussion.
Fulfilling agreements and expectations reliably
It is important that everyone starts from the same or similar expectations, which in one case or another must also be negotiated. In this way, the client, employee and supervisor ad interim develop common expectations, against which the interim manager must also be measured.
It is often the little things that count. For example, it can help if employees realize that the daily routine, for example, is communicated openly and transparently and that the day actually runs as planned. Expectations are sharpened and the new supervisor ad interim has to deliver the expected result reliably and dependably using a banal example.
Allowing employees to EXPERIENCE that agreements and expectations are reliably fulfilled - this builds trust. This takes time, which every interim manager should take.
The attitude of the interim manager
Creating trust - this requires not only agreed expectations and their reliable fulfillment, but also a corresponding attitude on the part of the new supervisor ad interim.
Listening shows the employees concerned that they are interested in what they have to say and report. Listening signals respect for the individual. This also includes the appropriate personal attitude of the interim manager. Authenticity and credibility are crucial qualities in this context. Anyone who pretends to employees does not gain credibility and therefore cannot win their trust. On the contrary, trust that has been built up over a long period of time will be eroded or even worse destroyed in a very short time.
Are you looking for a trustworthy interim manager?
Contact us at office@top50interim.com or +41 (0)41 412 02 02
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