Can you describe your work culture as one where individuals have confidence in the ability of and reliance on others to be fair, truthful, honorable and able? If so, congratulations: you can count on people to do the right thing, right now. If not, you need to develop a culture of trust.
Countless management books, seminars and programs offer insights into how leaders can develop trust within their organizations. Their consistent theme—“It begins with you”—is certainly valid, as leaders must model trust and set an example for their people. Success depends on a personal campaign of inner reflection, values assessment and relational intelligence. Training can be effective and rewarding, but much of the focus often stops there.
Leaders develop trust (rely on others to do the right thing) after observing people’s character and behavior over time and gaining confidence in them.
Leaders earn trust by consistently displaying personal integrity, accountability and concern for others. (You can read more about the three types of leadership trust in a previous blog post, here.)
Trust, in fact, is the most potent tool in a leader’s arsenal, asserts JetBlue Airways Chairman Joel Peterson in The 10 Laws of Trust: Building the Bonds That Make a Business Great (AMACOM, 2016). Trusted leaders are more productive, profitable and prosperous. Their people are more engaged, morale and loyalty soar, and the overall work ethic is enviable. The organization sees lower turnover, waste and inefficiency.
While we’re often led to believe that trustworthy behavior will permeate the work environment like ripples in a pond, this trickle-down theory is overly simplistic. As Gallup studies reveal, employees trust their coworkers even less than their leaders. Organizations cannot reach their full potential until leaders establish a culture where employees trust their coworkers.
What do you think? What has been your experience with trust at work? Do employees trust their coworkers? I’d love to hear from you. You can call me at 561-582-6060, let’s talk. And as always, I can be reached here or on LinkedIn.
