Building Trust
Most people do not pay attention to the issue of trust in their
organization until it is broken. But by then the damage is done:
people withhold facts and information, managers set convoluted
goals, management is not available, people talk behind each others’
backs—the list goes on and on.
What causes trust to be broken in an organization? Some prevalent
“trust busters” include broken promises, unethical behaviors, unfair
practices (e.g., unearned promotions), not getting good results,
miscommunication, no communication, no recognition, no feedback, and
misrepresenting an area of expertise according to Cynthia Olmstead,
organizational change expert and co-author of The Ken Blanchard
Companies’ Building Trust
program.
The good news is that trust can be regained. “But it is a long drawn
and costly process,” says Anand Pillai, VP & Global Head of Talent
Transformation for HCL Technologies. “This has to start from the top
with the key people walking the extra mile to lead by example and
build back the lost trust by adhering to even the small promises and
commitments.”
If
your organization is looking for ways to evaluate the level of trust
currently present in your organization, or is thinking about how to
enhance the trust between people in your company, here are eight
places to begin.
1.
Demonstrating Trust—If you want to create a trusting work environment, you
have to begin by demonstrating trust. Establishing rules, policies,
and procedures to protect against a few bad apples sends the wrong
message to the vast majority of people in your organization who need
and deserve to be trusted.
2.
Sharing Information—Information is power. One of the best ways to build a
sense of trust in people is by sharing information. Sharing
information sometimes means disclosing information that is
considered privileged, including sensitive and important topics such
as the competition’s activities, future business plans and
strategies, financial data, industry issues or problem areas,
competitor’s best practices, the way group activities contribute to
organizational goals, and performance feedback. Providing people
with more complete information communicates trust and a sense of
“we’re in this together.” It helps people think more broadly about
the organization and the inter-relationships of various groups,
resources, and goals.
3.
Telling it Straight—Study after study has indicated that the number one
quality that people want in a leader is integrity. People want to
follow someone they trust. Business leaders who tell it straight,
who are open and honest even about bad news, develop the trust
essential for strong, long-term relationships—inside and outside the
company.
4.
Providing Opportunities for Everyone to Win—Do
you want your people to work together or to compete against each
other? When people within an organization are forced to compete
against one another, you lose everyone’s trust. Now all people are
concerned about is looking out for number one.
5.
Providing Feedback—Make sure leaders schedule and hold regular
progress-check meetings with their direct reports. This will allow
managers to catch problems before they become major issues and
significantly increase the chances that a direct report’s
performance will meet expectations when it’s time for their
performance review.
6.
Resolving Concerns Head On—Resolve concerns head on by putting
challenges on the table and giving people an opportunity to
influence the process. When leaders expand people’s involvement and
influence, there is more buy-in because people are less likely to
feel they are being controlled. This builds trust and increases the
credibility of the leader.
7.
Admitting Mistakes—An apology can be an effective way to correct a mistake
and restore the trust needed for a good relationship. But in many
organizations employees and managers are conditioned to hide
mistakes because it's not acceptable to make them. And that leads to
bigger problems. Leaders who admit mistakes when they are wrong are
not seen as weak—they are seen as having integrity and being
trustworthy.
8.
Walking the Talk—A leader, above all, has to be a walking example of the
vision and values of the organization. The key to leadership is
being able to develop a trusting relationship with others. Without
trust, it is impossible for an organization to function effectively.
Trust between leaders and the people they lead is essential for
working together. If leaders say one thing and do another, people
will question their trustworthiness.
As
trust expert Cynthia Olmstead reminds us, “We must all treat trust
as a precious gem that must be highly valued and treasured. It needs
to be viewed as if it were a delicate egg; when treated roughly it
will fall and shatter. Trust is an extremely important commodity to
any relationship, personally or organizationally.”
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