Let’s be real. The ability to trust is a basic human need. How early are lessons of trust (or mistrust) instilled into our brains? Babies learn this in the arms of their parents trusting that they’ll be fed and loved and nurtured. Parents learn to trust or mistrust their children based on their ability to make good decisions. Developing a culture of trust is no different in the workplace. We all seek approval and want to be trusted to do a good job, to manage large budgets, to work on high visibility projects or to take on more responsibility in preparation for that big promotion. Trust is essential for the well-being of both the individual and the organization. But does it really exist in today’s workplace?
Think about it. Can you remember starting a new job with company X and on your first day you spending hours with HR going over company policies and procedures? Each policy typically ended with a clause similar to this one:
“… any violations of this policy may be viewed as gross misconduct and can result in disciplinary action up to and including termination of employment.”
What a way to welcome new members to the family. The message that is being communicated here to the new employee is:
“Welcome aboard. We don’t trust you. We believe you might mess up at some point and here’s what’s going to happen when you do.”
As if that’s not bad enough, somewhere within those same first few hours, we also hear the message “we are trustworthy and we want you to trust us.” This is typically delivered through phrases such as equal opportunity employer; celebrate diversity; fair pay and open door policy. This seems to suggest that organizations want their employees to trust them to do the right thing, but that courtesy is not necessarily extended back. This is definitely not a good thing because lack of organizational trust contributes to disengaged employees; it has a negative impact on productivity. Lack of organizational trust fuels low employee morale and in very extreme cases can even sabotage or undermine a company’s growth and success.
Large organizations spend hundreds of thousands of dollars working with consulting firms to help them cultivate trust. We should, however, start out by understanding that trust cannot be bought. Trust is mutual. It is a product of great relationships. There is no such thing as one-way trust where you trust me but I don’t trust you. Trust can only be built or rebuilt by fixing the people relationships within the organization. Managers who want their direct reports to trust them must reciprocate in kind.
There are some simple steps that you can take in your capacity as an organization leader. Whether you are a director, middle manager, frontline supervisor or team leader, these simple steps can help you foster a mutually trusting relationship in the workplace. Ideally, this type of culture will define the entire organization starting at the helm and oozing through the pores of every person on board.
1. Get back to basics with leadership. No matter your rank in the company hierarchy, if you have people who report to you then you must play the role of both leader and manager. If you’re only focusing on getting the day-to-day job done, you are only fulfilling your role as a manager. While your people need you to be an effective manager, they also need you to lead them. One of my favorite leadership books is The Leadership Challenge by James Kouzes and Barry Posner. In their book Kouzes and Posner have outlined the five practices of exemplary leadership. Leaders who are performing at their personal best are able to do these five things:
a) Challenge the process
b) Inspire a shared vision
c) Enable others to act
d) Model the way
e) Encourage the heart
These foundational practices are important for leaders at all levels of the organization. The degree to which you are able execute on these practices will determine how deeply your people believe in your ability to lead them and therefore how much trust they put in you. Whether you are the CEO of your company, or you’re the manager of a call center, you have people looking to you for direction and that makes these qualities very important to you.
2. Communicate openly and honestly. Make sure everyone understands the mission and vision of your organization. Sharing that understanding starts at the top and cascades through the ranks so that everyone is in the know. Don’t leave your people guessing at what you stand for as an organization or even as a manager. Your people need to know how they contribute to the overall strategy of the company. It is crucial that everyone is clear about how their role fits into the big picture and how what they do contributes to the bottom line. There is nothing worse than an employee feeling like his work adds no value. I once worked with a group of house-keepers who thought that they were the least important people in their hotel. Helping them understand how their roles directly impacted the satisfaction of the guests who stayed at the hotel went a long way in clarifying how they could easily be the most important people on staff! And when changes have to be made, be open and honest about them. Minimize the stress of uncertainty by sharing pertinent information with your people. Honesty breeds trust. When employees are stressed because of uncertainty and not knowing what will happen next, they become unproductive. Research studies have shown that “Workplace stress costs U.S. employers an estimated $200 billion per year in absenteeism, lower productivity, staff turnover, workers’ compensation, medical insurance and other stress-related expenses.” As much as possible, communicate authentic messages and ensure that these messages make their way to the frontlines of your organizations. The frontline is where your strategy is executed. If they’re not feeling the love, then “Houston, we’ve got a problem”.
3. Focus on results. And I’m not just talking about the bottom line here. Your bottom line results will reflect the health of your organization. One way to keep things healthy is to give your people credit and recognition for high achievement and outstanding performance. People want to feel appreciated and they want to know that you notice their efforts as they do a good job. One sure way to kill trust among your people is to take credit for an accomplishment that clearly was theirs. Have you ever had that happen to you where you did all the work but your boss gets the credit and recognition? Not a good way to build trust. Conversely, when the company’s or an individual’s performance is not at its best take some time to identify the real reason for that. It’s not always the people that are the problem. It could be a process, or miscommunication. It could even be missing or malfunctioning tools and equipment. Taking the time to figure out the cause tells your people you trust them. Now, they can trust you to make sure they’ll have what they need to do a good job.
The bottom line is no matter where you fit in on the organizational chart, you have a responsibility to yourself and to your direct reports. In some cases you might not the person who can initiate and effect organization wide changes. But you can definitely begin with your small team. So allow me to borrow the words of Mark Bodnarczuk, Executive Director of the Breckenridge Institute who quite bluntly states “Managers have two choices. They can either consciously build organizational trust, or they can allow day-to-day issues, ineffective communication, and misperception to erode trust and develop a fear-based culture.”
The ball is in your court.