How to Build Trust and Influence as a New Manager

Trust is built through actions, not words! Trust is at the heart of any effective leadership style. I’ve found that it can make or break a team's performance, morale and overall success. Today, I want to share some insights on building and maintaining trust within your team, based on my 20+ years of experience in leadership roles. Transparency is Key: Share important updates, both good and bad. If something isn't going well, it’s better to let your team know rather than keeping them in the dark. People appreciate honesty. Open-Door Policy: Make sure you're approachable. If team members feel they can come to you with any problems or suggestions, you’re on the right track. Be Consistent: Try to treat everyone fairly and keep your promises. If people know what to expect from you, they're more likely to trust you. Acknowledge Mistakes: We're all human... we all make mistakes. Owning up to them shows maturity and reliability, two qualities that help build trust. Provide Feedback: Positive or constructive, feedback helps team members know where they stand and how they can improve. It's a two-way street... encourage them to provide you with feedback too. Tip: Always use Positive Reinforcement when giving feedback... don't make it all about the individuals shortcomings. Empower Your Team: Delegating tasks or responsibilities not only shows you trust your team's skills but also encourages their own development. The sense of ownership they get from it often leads to better results. Show Appreciation: Recognize and reward good work. Simple acts of appreciation can go a long way in building a positive and trusting work environment. Stick to Your Values: Integrity is crucial. If your actions reflect your words, people are more likely to trust you. Active Listening: Take the time to listen to your team's concerns and ideas. This not only fosters trust but can also provide you with valuable insights. Follow Through: If you commit to something, do everything in your power to make it happen. This confirms that you're reliable, further building trust. Leadership isn't about pretending to have all the answers. Simon Sinek - "In leadership, the quickest way to lose trust is to pretend you have all the answers. The best way to build it is to prove you don't." #LeadershipTrust #BuildingTeams #TransparencyInLeadership #LeadershipDevelopment #EffectiveLeadership

How to speak up when it feels safer not to. 10 ways to challenge with respect. You’ve been in this meeting. A senior team gathers to discuss a big decision. Someone says something that doesn’t sit right. Everyone notices. Everyone hesitates. And then... silence. Because speaking up feels risky. But staying silent? That costs even more. After decades in these rooms, here’s what I’ve learned: 1) If you don’t speak up, people assume you agree. → Silence doesn’t protect you—it defines you. → Say: “I see it differently—can I explain why?” 2) Being first is uncomfortable. → But it opens the door for others to follow. → Ask: “Is anyone else thinking about it differently?” 3) You teach people how to treat you. → Every “sure” tells them their idea is fine. → Try: “I don’t love that direction—here’s why.” 4) Disagreeing isn’t disrespectful. → Tone matters more than opinion. → Say: “Would it be okay if I offered a pushback?” 5) Fake harmony blocks real solutions. → If no one disagrees, nothing gets better. → Try: “I wonder what we’re not saying yet?” 6) Credibility builds real influence. → People listen to who earns their respect. → Build it by asking smart questions. 7) Silence sends a message, even if you didn’t mean to. → People assume you're on board. → Say: “I have another take -- can I share it?” 8) You don’t need everyone to agree. → But you do need to speak clearly. → Say what you mean in one sentence, then pause. 9) You don’t need a title to lead. → Trust is built by what you do, not what you have. → Be the steady voice people rely on when it counts. 10) People remember who spoke when they couldn’t. → Your voice might be the one they needed. → That’s leadership. 💬 If you don’t say it, no one will. ✅ Speak with purpose. ✅ Challenge with respect. ✅ Lead with credibility, not just a title. You don’t have to take over the room. You just have to move it forward. What’s one phrase or approach you use to challenge with respect? Please share 👇 ______________________ ♻ Repost to remind someone that quiet isn’t always safe. 👉Follow Stephanie Eidelman (Meisel) for more ways to grow your visibility and influence at work. 📫 Subscribe to my free newsletter, The Career Edit, for tools to lead with confidence: https://hubs.la/Q03dY9_n0

I became a people manager for the first time in 2008. I was 25 and had no idea what I was doing. So here’s some advice for younger me that might also be helpful to you: 1. Your #1 job is to figure out what the most important problem is and then get everyone aligned on solving it. The most wasteful thing companies do is spend months working on things that ultimately have no impact. Your team is counting on you to focus them in the right places. 2. Slow down. Listen more. Learn from others. Think. If you don’t know what the right answer is, don’t force a decision. Not knowing doesn’t mean you are bad at your job. Taking an extra 1-2 weeks to choose the right path is better than 2-3 months executing the wrong path. 3. You are the leader of your team, but you are not a member of your team. You are a member of your leadership team. Helping the team you lead is part of your job, not the whole job. Your job is to work with your peers to solve company problems, which is a whole lot bigger than what’s good for your team. 4. When you feel yourself getting angry or frustrated at others, notice it, and then get curious. Maybe a co-worker is dealing with some awful stuff in their personal life. Maybe the founder is acting out because they are afraid. Maybe your report is doing bad work because no one taught them. The stories we tell ourselves are usually wrong. Curiosity creates empathy and can expose what actually needs addressing. 5. True leadership and influence comes from people trusting you, not because your job title confers authority. You have to earn it. Be right most of the time. Admit when you are wrong. Have integrity. Be open to the thoughts and feelings of others. Genuinely care about people. Be kind, but also be honest and be fair. And most of all, take a breath. It’s gonna be ok. You got this.

Having a baseline understanding and awareness of cognitive biases is incredibly helpful for new sales managers. Confirmation bias can impact the quality of their decision making. Outcome bias can lead to their decision-making failing to improve over time. But in my experience, the most important one for new managers to keep top of mind is the Fundamental Attribution Error. Mainly because it can impact their ability to build trust and be a supportive presence for their team. Fundamental attribution error refers to our tendency to attribute another's actions to their character or personality, while attributing our own behavior to external situational factors outside of our control. It’s very easy make this error as a new manager. For example, when they were AEs, most managers probably had moments where they said there was no opportunity on their book and little hope of hitting quota. They firmly believed that to be true and that the lack of opportunity was due to external factors. They didn’t believe it was anything to do with their actions, level of motivation, or mindset. But when they become a manager and have an AE on their team tell them the same thing, how do they react? Commonly by being a bit frustrated about the AE’s lack of ownership and motivation, and feeling like they should be doing more to impact the situation. And that’s a reaction to watch out for. Because making the Fundamental Attribution Error and assumptions about someone’s actions, mindset, or level of motivation is a sure-fire way to damage trust and the relationship. A better approach = lead with empathy, try to uncover external factors and limiting beliefs that may be impacting their performance. Then lean into coaching and other forms of support from there. #salesleadership #coaching #salesenablement #sales

Your Title Doesn’t Mean They Trust You: The Hidden Leadership Gap No One Talks About “Here’s a hard truth I learned the uncomfortable way…” I lead a team. I had the title, the authority, and a seat at the table. But one day, a mid-level manager quietly said, ‘People don’t follow your title. They follow your trust.’ And that hit me. That’s when I realized the massive gap between positional power and personal influence. According to Gallup, only 21% of employees strongly agree their leaders communicate effectively. Translation? Titles are overrated, influence drives performance. ✅ Positional power gives you access. ✅ Influence gives you action. If you’re a VP, Director, or managing a growing team and wondering why alignment feels like a battle, it’s probably not about org charts. It’s about relational capital. So here’s how I started closing that gap and saw real trust build in under 90 days: 1. Asked one question weekly: “What’s one thing I can do better this week?” 2. Stopped talking first in meetings. 3. Privately celebrated effort, not just outcomes. These are small shifts—but they build influence fast. Leadership isn’t given. It’s earned, day by day. If you’re serious about growing influence, not just authority, start by asking this: Would they follow you if you lost your title tomorrow? #LeadershipDevelopment #BuildTrustAsALeader #InfluentialLeadership