Episode 182: (Team Retention) The Trust Equation: Building Better Engagement Through Gratitude

In this episode…

Work environments are built on various interconnected relationships nurtured by appreciation, gratitude, and trust. How can leaders maintain healthy relationships with their teams to boost organization-wide engagement?

According to people strategist Traci Austin, trust is the foundation for every relationship, allowing individuals to work together to achieve organizational goals. Cultivating this trust requires identifying employees’ unique behavioral and emotional needs through psychologically safe environments. These workspaces allow individuals to express themselves openly; to support this, you can have your team identify each other’s strengths, relationship dynamics, outcomes, and shared purposes. Through these exercises, your team can promote honesty, vulnerability, clear expectations, and accountability.

In The People Strategy Podcast’s latest Team Retention series episode, co-host Chad Franzen meets with Traci Austin to discuss the role of trust in employee engagement. Traci shares how executing your mission, vision, and values contributes to employee appreciation and gratitude, how to measure the impact of psychological safety exercises, and the common barriers to organizational trust.

Resources Mentioned in this episode:

Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn:

[4:32] The importance of trust and its role in employee engagement

[9:09] Strategies for creating a psychologically safe work environment

[11:26] How to measure the impact of psychological safety

[12:51] What erodes trust within teams?

[16:43] Communicating expectations to build the team

[17:48] The impact of mission, vision, and values on employee appreciation and gratitude

[21:40] How accountability cultivates business goals

[24:56] Traci Austin talks about identifying behavioral drives to align with organizational goals

Quotable Moments:

“Trust is really important in relationships, and when we look at work, it’s a multitude of relationships.”
“So when someone truly feels appreciated, more than likely, that’s going to be passed on again and again.”
“Each of us has desires. We want to make an impact. We want to be appreciated.”

Each of us has desires. We want to make an impact. We want to be appreciated.- Traci Austin Share on X

Action Steps:

Implement practices that acknowledge individual accomplishments and contributions: Recognizing each team member’s unique value fosters a culture of appreciation, which directly influences employee engagement and job satisfaction.
Regularly conduct employee engagement surveys to track psychological safety and trust levels: Surveys help gauge the team’s health, inform strategy adjustments, and ensure continuous progress toward a positive work environment.
Clearly communicate expectations and define responsibilities within the team: Setting clear expectations avoids misunderstandings and builds a strong foundation for trust and teamwork.
Cultivate a transparent culture where feedback is welcomed and acted upon: Open communication channels encourage dialogue, employee buy-in, and mutual respect, which are essential for collaboration and growth.
Lead by example by demonstrating gratitude and appreciation in daily interactions: Leaders who exhibit these qualities influence their teams to adopt the same approach, creating a ripple effect of positive behavior across the organization.

Traci Austin is the Owner and Chief Talent Officer at Elevated Talent Consulting, a certified woman-owned HR firm. As an HR professional and chief strategy consultant, she has over two decades of experience creating and building HR departments for small businesses. Traci specializes in employee development, consulting, and coaching and creates fulfilling work environments that align employee aspirations with business goals. She also hosts The People Strategy Podcast.

Sponsor for this episode…

This episode is brought to you by Elevated Talent Consulting, a leading provider of comprehensive talent management solutions.

Whether you’re looking to optimize your recruitment process, enhance employee engagement, or develop effective leadership strategies, Elevated Talent Consulting has the expertise to level up your team.

Discover how they can transform your workforce at elevatedtalentconsulting.com.