Brokers and managers who create a culture of trust find it spreads beyond just their brokerage and positively affects how the firm is perceived within the industry, community, and clients. Mary Kelly, Ph.D., a leadership expert and executive coach at Productive Leaders in Dallas (productiveleaders.com), gives her tips for building trust in your brokerage.

Jump in when necessary. That doesn’t necessarily mean doing people’s jobs for them. It means providing advice, guidance, and direction when needed.

Don’t shoot the messenger. Great leaders should seek out when there are problems so they can fix them. Encouraging agents to speak out about issues can make it easier for you to solve your brokerage’s obstacles and establish greater trust.

Provide feedback quickly and appropriately. Providing course corrections when you are in a leadership role is not optional—it is expected. Agents should be able to trust that their brokers and managers will care enough about them to let them know when they are being successful and when they are not.

Be consistent. No agent wants to wonder whether the action she took on Monday is going to be wrong on Tuesday. If it was okay on Monday, it should be okay on Tuesday. Set clear standards and be consistent.

Tell the truth. Especially during tough situations. People would rather work for an honest, straight shooter than someone disingenuous. Bad news is better than uncertainty.