Good Leaders Build Trust First

August 06, 2013 HBR's Management Tip of the Day Most leaders today emphasize their competence, strength, and credentials, but none of that matters if people don’t trust you. Win people over with warmth. Here’s how:  Use the right tone. Speak with lower pitch and volume. Aim for a tone that suggests that you’re leveling with people and being completely honest. Validate feelings. If you show your employees that you hold roughly the same worldview they do, you demonstrate not only empathy but, in their eyes, common sense. If you want colleagues to listen and agree with you, first agree with them. Smile—and mean it. Smiling is contagious. When people see you beaming, they’ll likely smile too. But a polite grin fools no one. To project warmth, you have to genuinely feel it. Adapted from “Connect, Then Lead,” by Amy J.C. Cuddy, Matthew Kohut, and John Neffinger.