For Optimal Teamwork, Build Trust with the 6 C’s of Leadership | CMOE (2024)

Trust is an essential element of all successful interpersonal relationships.

As a leader, it’s essential for you to build a collaborative, high-performing, innovative team—and that begins with you.

Your willingness to trust others will help people trust you in turn and feel more motivated to help, support, and trust one another.

What Are the 6 C’s of Leadership?

Sometimes called the six key elements of building trust, the 6 C’s are the essential skills and attributes that will help you enhance the confidence in your relationships: character, caring, competence, consistency, credibility, and communication. Again and again, it is seen that the most successful leaders and teams are employing these traits.

Thinking through your own strengths and opportunities for improvement in using the 6 C’s of Trust is the first step towards building trust and enhancing teamwork.

1. Character

Having character as a leader means you remain optimistic even when challenges arise. To motivate others, you must be clear about what motivates you, what inspires you, what your values are, and how you show your integrity. It means being clear and truthful with others about what you want and what you stand for.

2. Caring

Caring means showing your concern for and sensitivity towards others. The act of caring includes responding to the needs of others on the team by offering your help, showing interest, and taking the needs of the organization, team, and individuals to heart. As a leader, you must be supportive and willing to give credit to others where it’s due.

3. Competence

Competence is critical to making smart decisions and knowing how and where to get the information you need to accurately perform the functions for which you are accountable. When you are willing to share your expertise and continually develop your knowledge in the field, others will have more trust in your ability to guide them towards top-notch performance.

4. Consistency

Leadership consistency means establishing a history of reliable, dependable behavior. People want to know that you will follow through on your commitments and take personal responsibility for your choices, decisions, and actions. Sometimes this means standing by the decisions you make even when they are unpopular.

5. Credibility

Building your credibility with others means consistently fulfilling the expectations they have of you. To be perceived as credible, you must know how your actions affect others in the organization and seek out constructive feedback. Having the courage to admit your mistakes, stay calm, and respond to new information shows strong commitment to the success of the business.

6. Communication

Your verbal and nonverbal communication skills help people feel comfortable, listened to, and understood. Acknowledging ideas, discussing information, using open-ended questions, and keeping an open mind shows team members that you have respect for them.

Trust is easy to lose and hard to rebuild if it is damaged or lost, and it takes time to develop a high level of trust on a team. These six skills can help you build the trust needed to open up channels of communication with others and provide them with a sense of safety and inclusivity. When a team has trust, it can be more innovative, collaborative, and productive.

To increase or rebuild trust and improve the performance of your team, learn more here.