Most people would agree that leading a team or a company or even a single individual becomes easier if you have their trust. Neuro-chemically people change when they trust or do not trust people. Higher levels of oxytocin are associated with trusting people.

Oxytocin works by suppressing the activity of the amygdala (a small region of the brain). Tests have been done which involved men inhaling either oxytocin or a placebo before performing a task in which they sorted pictures of angry or fearful faces and threatening scenes. The brains of all the men were monitored and results showed reduced activity in the amygdala.

Basically if a person doesn’t trust you then their brain will be on guard for threats and will be acting defensively. This isn’t ideal for you! You want people to be flooded with oxytocin and so open to your communication and feeling a connection with you. Our Synaptic Potential training is designed to teach you how to do just this.

Experience teaches us a lot about how we trust and what we can do to build people’s trust in us. The weight that actions carry in the arena of trust is huge. A surprising new piece of research has just come out that indicates one short sentence can also powerfully increase trust.

“You can trust us to do the job for you” is the sentence that was added to the end of an advertisement for an auto service firm. The result was that people found them as much as 33% more trust worthy. They also were rated 7% better on fair price, 11% more caring, 30% better on fair treatment, 30% better on quality and 33% better on competency.

That’s huge! The results that come from telling people something so straightforward. This has applications in other areas too, but staying on trust for a moment. The power of trust is wide ranging. People not only trust you more but also think you are fairer and more caring and deliver better quality more competently! That’s a lot of benefits from telling people they can trust you.

Now obviously, the follow up from this is that you need to deliver – long-term trust can only be maintained and the mutual benefits gleamed if you can actually be trusted. But if you are a trustworthy leader then could you find a way to tell people?

Even better, after you have proven your trustworthiness how could you find ways to cement their new deepened trust in you? Being a powerful leader is about surrounding yourself with a fantastic team who respect you and will follow you. If they don’t trust you or the direction you are taking them in then they won’t follow. Executive Coaching can help you strategise and get the most out of yourself.

Consider reminding people you communicate with that they can trust you…trust me…it will pay dividends.