The first 100 days of any new leader’s tenure have always taken on particular significance as they help to set expectations and standards that endure throughout their tenure.  Research from Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis suggests, however, that rushing any attempt to build trust with one’s team may not be the best approach.

The authors highlight that trust is inherently dynamic in nature, and can be especially susceptible to change early on in the tenure of a leader because they’re under particular scrutiny at this time.

For instance, when leaders begin with relatively low levels of trust were capable of experiencing steep growth in trust over time, especially when they engaged in particular behaviors.  It highlights how low initial trust levels may not consign a leader to the scrap heap.

“Our findings depart from conventional wisdom, which seeks to maximize the level of trust in the leader from day one,” the researchers explain.

“Although having a high level of employee trust in a leader is associated with effectiveness, we found that it is even more effective to start at a moderate level of trust and increase to a high level over the first several months. This approach allows leaders to build a sustainable foundation of trust and create a sense of positive momentum.”

Changing trust

Previous studies into trust tend to focus on a particular snapshot in time rather than how it evolves.  Trust was found to evolve particularly among so-called transformational leaders, especially if the leaders focused on values while taking time to develop key relationships with their team.

The researchers explain that teams often develop expectations about a leader even before they officially start in the role, with these expectations formed by things such as their credentials or goals.  They may also use personal attributes and social connections to assess the new leader.

“Some leaders are able to establish a high level of trust immediately, while other leaders—particularly minorities—may start with low levels of trust and need to build trust over time,” the researchers explain.

Earning trust

While it may seem preferable to have trust right from the start, the study found that there can be benefits to building it up slowly.  Indeed, those who started off with higher levels of trust generally saw that trust erode over time.

“Our analysis suggests that this is not just a regression to the mean phenomenon but rather is based on psychological factors,” the researchers say.

Transformational leaders were particularly effective at building trust in large part because of the values and work ethics they exhibit, but they also seemed to be genuinely interested in the development of their team and fostered a collaborative culture.

If leaders exhibited these behaviors, they were able to quickly overcome any initial trust deficits they had.  The inverse was true of leaders who began with high trust levels but did not exhibit transformational leadership.  For those leaders, their trust gradually ebbed away.

“This study suggests that leaders may establish trust most quickly by managing expectations for how they will be an effective leader, and subsequently engaging in a particular set of behaviors that earn trust,” the authors conclude.