How important is trust to you?
No relationship where trust is undermined, destroyed or non-existent is a healthy relationship. Distrust is a vicious circle that ultimately destroys any relationship. Consequently I would imagine that you consider it very important.
So what about at work? Is there an environment of trust in your workplace?
It would appear that this is unlikely. A recent survey has found that only 36% of employees trust their senior managers. In light of the spate of recent corporate scandals perhaps the only surprising thing about this conclusion is that the number is so high. But joking aside, this is a serious indictment of the workplace. How can you expect people to give of their best: to be engaged enough to be enthusiastic, enterprising and energetic in their work if they do not trust the people they are working for?
And the irony of trust is that it is easier to create than repair. Once trust is broken, it takes a monumental effort to rebuild. Clearly then it is better not to lose it in the first place.
So how do you stack up against this statistic? How sure are you that you have your people’s trust? And what makes you so sure that you do have it? The fact is that even if you think you do, the odds are 2:1 against you that you don’t! Consequently, like it or not, you need to make sure, and be prepared to put in that effort if either you don’t know, or you know that you don’t. It is a daunting prospect, and you can hardly be blamed if you don’t know where to begin.
Well, let me try to help you.
One of the key characteristics of trust is that it is inherently reciprocal. Thus, while there are no guarantees, you have to give it in the first place. And that might just help you get to the root of the problem. How much do you trust your people?
If you think about it, from the time you first put on your management hat, you have been taught that you are responsible for safeguarding shareholders' interests. In order to meet this objective, you have learned that you are responsible for ensuring that there are proper, adequate controls in place. And thus you have been measured on the effectiveness of your controls and how effectively you enforce them. In turn that has translated into ensuring that people do what you tell them, following the processes you lay down and then being assessed for their performance in doing so.
The problem with this command and control approach is that it implicitly broadcasts the message that you do not trust your people. Albert Schweitzer once said, “Example is not the main thing influencing others. It is the only thing.” So here you have a situation in which your example tells your people that you don’t trust them. Is it any wonder then that your employees don’t trust you either? Distrust is once again simply the reflection of your own thoughts, behaviours and expectations.
So how do you overcome this? And, more importantly, how do you overcome it without putting the overall organisation at risk?
The answer is obvious: you have to give your employees a stake in the business! By making your employees co-owners of the business, you create a common purpose with one single stroke. You start to eradicate the historic sense of them versus us and you build an environment where everyone is working to the same end and trust becomes imperative. Of course you still have to demonstrate your trustworthiness, and so does everyone else working there. But at least you have a framework for it; a framework which allows you to create an organisational culture in which organisational purpose, readiness for change and continuous improvement are embedded in engaged employees and where results will transcend anything you currently achieve.
Even if you have a workplace where trust abounds, greater employee ownership will cement this vital ingredient for sustained business success. Can you really afford to be without it?
Your article is really good, come to support the next ah! ! !