KateNasser.com

Leaders, it takes essential trust for employees not to take interactions too personally. If an employee comes to you upset that team members are not treating them well — making fun of them — don’t tell that employee to stop taking things personally. It doesn’t help and you are missing the point. The issue is trust. You may be thinking “imitation is the highest form of flattery.” Why is this employee upset? Well it’s only the highest form of flattery IF essential trust exists.

Essential Trust Lesson: Leaders, Coach Employees w/ This Scenario. Image by bulletproofbra via Flickr.

Image by bulletproofbra via Flickr Creative Commons License.

Coach Employees on This Essential Trust Lesson

The employee is showing you that it’s time to build more trust on the team. And no, you don’t have to use the “trust fall” to do it. Most people dislike that team building exercise anyway. Draw the team together and discuss what imitation does to team members.

Imitation Scenario: Essential Questions & Steps

1. Imitation is the highest form of flattery IF ____________. Have them fill in the blank. Note every response so all can see the list.

2. Imitation can also be used to _____________. Again, note every response.

3. What should you never imitate or tease others about? Have them generate this list.

4. What type of culture does our team have? Do we expect everyone to conform and be the same? Or do we respect individual differences?

5. How will we each do better to respect each other and build more trust? Tangible steps change things!

6. What phrase can we use with each other when any of us is stepping over the line and hurting others?

The Power of Essential Trust

It’s essential trust that holds team members together. It has to include respect for differences. People can use imitation to passively hurt others and that crushes morale and performance. So take time to use the scenario of imitation to help everyone build awareness, respect, and essential trust.

For more information on this team building issue of essential trust, please contact me at the email noted below or leave your question in the comments section of this blog post. Thank you!

From my professional experience to your success,
Kate Nasser, The People Skills Coach™

Related Posts:
Specific Reasons Why You Welcome New Team Members
How to Have Great Leadership & Teamwork Chemistry

©2023 Kate Nasser, CAS, Inc. Somerville, NJ. I appreciate your sharing the link to this post on your social streams. However, if you want to re-post or republish the content of this post, please email info@katenasser.com for permission and guidelines. Thank you for respecting intellectual capital.

Kate Nasser, The People Skills Coach™, delivers coaching, consulting, training, and keynotes on leading change, employee engagement, teamwork, and delivering the ultimate customer service. She turns interaction obstacles into interpersonal success. See this site for workshop outlines, keynote footage, and customer results.

Tags: emotional intelligence, essential, flattery, imitation, Leadership, leading morale, people skills, respect, team building, team leaders, Teamwork, trust