Amazon CEO says employees must have three specific traits to earn his trust
Topics: Amazon
Alice Wade
Featured Image Credit: Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Topics: Amazon
Forging a solid relationship with your boss isn't always easy, but despite what most of us think, gaining their approval through flattery is not the answer, according to the CEO of Amazon.
Instead, trust is earned by challenging them when necessary.
In a YouTube video, Andy Jassy, 58, has revealed the three traits that will guarantee your boss's respect.
Attempting to butter up your boss by always agreeing with them is a skill many people 'get wrong', he said.
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"I won’t challenge you if you don’t challenge me or this person isn’t trustworthy because they challenged me in a group of people."
Earning trust, he said, is achieved by channelling three essential traits.
"Employees should be honest, authentic, straightforward," he explained, adding that 'listening intently, but challenging respectfully if you disagree' is pivotal to fostering a cohesive team.
“If you think we’re doing something wrong for customers of the business, speak up,” he added. “If you own something, and it’s not going well, own it.”
It's not only up to the employee, though, Jassy also said. Being 'vocally self-critical, even when doing so is awkward or embarrassing,' is crucial for leaders to build trust with their team.
Delivery is important, though, he added. Backing up your points with evidence and data is crucial to showing they're worth trusting.
Proving his case, Jassy reflected on a moment during his days leading Amazon's marketing team back in the early 2000s.
During an operating meeting where Jassy presented a 220-slide PowerPoint to the team, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos interrupted him on 10 slides to tell him his numbers were wrong.
Though taken aback at first, he soon realized Bezos was right.
But rather than taking it as a cause for disturbance, he used the moment to raise his hands and take accountability, thereby better earning his boss's trust.
It paid off, too, with Jassy later being promoted to one of Bezos's top advisors before eventually crowning him the new CEO in 2020.
Jassy said this trust was earned by 'owning it'; being openly self-critical after making mistakes and going on to improve them.
Having this foundation of trust between leaders and staff is the medium through which the tech giant overtook Walmart with over $717 billion in annual sales.
As on 2026, Amazon, which employs 1.5 million people across the globe, was ranked the world's largest company by revenue.