Trustworthy

Just Checking

This past spring I arranged to pick up and pay for my Alice Chalmers B-model tractor. I arrived to pick it up on the flatbed trailer I was towing behind our pick-up. I was excited! The B model was built between 1947 and 1957. (Since there is no title, just a bill of sale, you can't be sure of the exact year of manufacture) I've needed a tractor to mow my grazing pasture. I wasn't planning on getting anything quite as antiquated, but I was excited! You know what the ignition switch looks like? It's a crank – no starter or battery on this model, just a magneto. I'd talked earlier with the owner, we'd negotiated a price, it was a little less than he'd originally asked for it, and I was pretty sure it was a good deal. After he checked me out on all the nuances of operating this admittedly unique machine, I took out my checkbook, and he said, "Oh, not a check, I need cash." I had absolutely no clue that he was expecting cash. After a few minutes of discussion, he agreed to trust me by accepting my check.

I appreciated the trust he placed in me.

This incident made me reflect on the trust we routinely place in each other in our free society, in all of our business relationships. Our relationship to and with each other will not and cannot work without trust.

One of my goals is to be even more trustworthy, to keep my agreements, my promises, to prepare myself to perform at the highest possible level for those who count on me.

Trust — n: assured reliance on the character, ability, strength, or truth of someone or something; one in which confidence is placed; vi: to place confidence, depend, to be confident, hope; vt: to commit or place in one's care or keeping, entrust; to rely on the truthfulness or accuracy of, believe; to place confidence in, rely on.
Mistrust — n: lack of confidence, uncertainty, distrust; vt: To have no trust or confidence in, suspect, to be suspicious.
Distrust — n: the lack or absence of trust, suspicion, wariness; vt: to have no trust or confidence in. (Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary)

The Principles of the Principal

A new school Principal was checking over his school on the first day. Passing the stockroom, he was startled to see the door wide open and teachers bustling in and out, carrying off books and supplies in preparation for the arrival of students the next day. The school where he had been a Principal the previous year had used a check-out system only slightly less elaborate than that at Fort Knox.

Cautiously, he asked the school's long time custodian, "Do you think it's wise to keep the stockroom unlocked and to let the teachers take things without requisitions?"

The custodian looked at him gravely and said, "We trust them with the children, don't we?"

Leaders who build trusting relationships within their team feel comfortable with the group. They're willing to consider alternative viewpoints and to utilize the expertise and abilities of others. They're also willing to let others make decisions for their part of the operation.

Without trust, managers take a self-protective posture. They are directive micro-managers who hold tight reign over their subordinates. Likewise, subordinates of distrustful managers are inclined to ignore, disguise and distort facts, ideas, conclusions and feelings. They play cover up, hide and seek games. They are suspicious and unreceptive, perceiving their manager's actions as attempts to manipulate them. Where trust has been violated, attempts by the manager to be truly open and honest are often ignored and rejected by subordinates. The mind set is so strong that the manager's honesty is viewed by subordinates as a clever attempt to deceive them again! They are cynical and can react by sabotaging the manager's efforts.

Why Focus on Trust

According to recent surveys, trust has declined in three out of four workplaces over the past two years. Employees are more cynical, anxious, and insecure than ever before.

Today's business environment is defined by acquisitions, reengineering, layoffs, rapid change, mergers, technical system conversions, and worldwide competition. All organizations must continuously raise the level of effectiveness to remain competitive and succeed. Reducing direct and indirect cost, improving product and service quality, increasing responsiveness and flexibility, and managing continuously evolving technology are today's challenges. To remain competitive, companies have striven to engage all employees in many ways including high performance work teams. The team approach is only successful if the organizational culture promotes a high level of trust and reciprocity is the cornerstone of commitment, team cohesion and cooperation so that members can focus on the improvement of their processes. Corporations with low levels of trust find that they not only have high turnover, but they waste enormous sums of money on duplicated effort, as local groups retrench and retreat into cliques and cabals, feeling embattled and anxious. Those extra-role activities that managers take for granted vanish. People who go the extra mile are never missed until they're gone. In such situations, results take longer to achieve, are of poorer quality and higher cost, and their implementation is less effective. In additions, absenteeism, sabotage, and other disruptions can crop up. These performance teams seek ways to maximize their skills, knowledge and experiences to continually improve their scores on target CRITICAL AREAS FOR RESULTS.
Reengineering and layoffs have all contributed to a sense that no one dare trust an employer.

Trust is a main pillar in sustaining cohesion and cooperation within team-based organizations. Trust creates and nourishes a positive environment. When associates are free to perform, they devote their full attention to the achievement of agreed-to goals. This trusting environment permits leadership to implement change strategies and innovations without the barrier of fear and suspicion. Trust also allows for reduced controls, and therefore reduced costs. Where trust prevails people collaborate to find solutions instead of searching for ways to put the blame on other departments or individuals by playing the "name, blame, shame game". Solutions, innovations, continuous improvements are aspects of an organization that is enhanced by information sharing and collaboration within a trusting environment.

By contrast, a strong sense of trust reduces transactional and social costs, promotes acceptance, and leads to risk-taking, experimentation, and flexibility.

Building trusting relationships with suppliers, customers (internal and external), and partners is essential, especially in the context of the global supply chain. Trust enhances direct negotiations and interactions, and facilitates a clear exchange of expectations.

What is Trust?

What does it mean to trust someone else? Trust exists when we make ourselves vulnerable to others whose subsequent behavior we cannot control. By trusting another person we become dependent upon them.

Trust isn't a simple thing, even though the term is used every day. Trust is bounded by an implicit understanding of the limits of that trust. For example, you might trust one person to fix your car and another to watch your child, but you couldn't switch those roles with any level of confidence.

But key attributes are common to all forms of trust. For example:

Trust involves an assumption of risk and the willingness to make oneself vulnerable.
Trust involves an expectation that another will behave in a certain predictable way.

Trust is an aspect of a relationship between two or more people. It is recipient and object-oriented. In other words, it depends upon the characteristics of a person as well as the role a person holds in a given relationship. The degree to which someone trusts a person and their capacity to be trusted in a given role depends upon the perception of that person's capability, commitment and consistency.

Capability is the ability to produce results, to deliver performance. Does the other person have the skills to get the job done? Does this person have a particular experience or talent? Do they perform well? When an individual or team chooses a lofty goal, can they be trusted to handle the complexity or requirements – do they have the capability to meet the goal? Are they self-deluding, overstating their ability to perform, or inclined to play it safe, underrate their capacity and undercommit?

Commitment is the perceived intention that someone demonstrates to achieve success. Does each party have the other's best interests in mind? Do they intend to act upon them? When the going gets tough, unforeseen problems arise, or the agreement takes more effort than originally believed, do they still make it happen due to their commitment to the other? Do they have a history of keeping their word or making excuses, projecting and blaming others? Business partnerships falter when the commitment was more to self-interest than to the partnership.

Consistency is a harmony between words and actions. Does someone demonstrate agreement between words and actions? Do they live up to their word? We think of someone as demonstrating integrity when we can rely on them to successfully accomplish their goals in a consistent manner over time. Does an associate or supplier produce the same level of performance over time? Is the other person's behavior predictable? What is their track record?

When is Trust Needed Most

While substantial levels of trust may not always be required in routine work situations, trust is almost always needed when leaders call for change and are asked to accomplish extraordinary stretching goals.

Building and Sustaining Trust

Our trusting (or distrusting) behavior is driven by the trusting beliefs we have about each other. Our conceptual modeling of trust – capability, commitment, and consistency are the starting points of building and sustaining trust. We must act to influence these beliefs in other people's minds, to build credibility. Go beyond the phrase "trust me" to saying "watch me." Achieving results in differing circumstances will drive a belief in capability. Acting in an unselfish manner toward another will impact a belief in commitment to the relationship. Words that are repeatedly supported by action demonstrate consistency to others.

Acting with a concern for trust helps to build a spirit of community and "suggests the importance of understanding the impact of one's actions on others" and the organization. Trust is built and sustained by three organizational factors: culture, organizational structure, and leadership. The organizational culture is build upon a vision, mission, and values, a set of ground rules that must be clear and meaningful to all members of the organization. The organization must continually enhance open, direct, and honest communication and even familiarities across levels and groups in order to promote understanding and concern for each other's expectations. It must promote individual development through continuous learning. It must show visible symbols of trust, encouraging risk-taking and experimentation.

The organizational structure must be simple enough to be understood by everyone. Accountabilities and roles need to be clearly defined. Role definitions are necessary to define the scope of an associate's authority. This is tricky because structure must not restrain creativity and energy. The rewards and recognition system must be appropriate to encourage collaboration and respect.

The level of capability through the workforce must be consistently demonstrated. Resources and learning opportunities must be available to employees to allow them to fulfill their role. The leader is the one that shows the way to building a living and self-sustaining organization, particularly through its culture and structure. The leader's behaviors and attitudes serve as a model for others to follow. For these reasons, the leader is required to act in a trustworthy way, and enhance trust throughout the organization.

Engaging in a relationship, with a certain level of dependence or interdependence, pertains to the willingness to accept and/or increase one's vulnerability to another person. Vulnerability by its nature requires a risk of being disappointed or harmed as a result of this risk. Yet the concept of trust is significant only when the risk of losing is perceived as a possible outcome of the relationship. The trust threshold is also dependent on individual subjectivity, or the "point at which one will withdraw trusting others." It is very easy to cross this threshold from trust to distrust, but it is extremely difficult to cross this border again toward regaining trust. No one wants to be fooled twice.

Nine Keys To Building Trust

Here's what you can do to build, rebuild, or strengthen trust in your organization:

Be a risk taker when it comes to trust. Letting people know where you stand on important issues is a risky proposition because you can't be certain that others will appreciate your candor, agree with your aspirations, or interpret your message the way you intended. But unless you're willing to be open, you can't expect others to take the same risk necessary to build trust. Being open also extends to acknowledging your own mistakes and vulnerabilities. Some people fear that by admitting mistakes they'll lose respect and/or power. However, experience shows that letting others know you are human, too, is one of the best ways to enhance your credibility. People tend to distrust those who claim to be infallible. We're not suggesting that you reveal your every fault to your constituents, but we do strongly recommend that you admit it when you're wrong and let others know that you are approachable. (Leadership Principle #11 – When you blow it, show it)

Openness. Share information – Earning trust begins by giving trust – start from a position of trust. You can approach trust in two ways:

Trust people on the front end and withdraw it if they prove untrustworthy, or
Withhold trust until you're sure it's warranted. Risk trying No. 1. (Leadership Principle #15 – Appeal to their noble motives.)

Reliability. Take the job seriously and do what you say you are going to do. One of the most fundamental basis for being perceived as trustworthy is predictability. Predictability refers to the degree of confidence others have in their expectations about your behavior or intentions. So, do what you say you are going to do. That may be as simple as getting to a meeting on time. It may be as difficult as not firing people in a downturn if you have declared a no lay-off policy. Doing what you say you're going to do is an additional way to enhance the sense of reciprocity needed to encourage others to increase their vulnerability with you. Being trustworthy yourself promotes trusting behavior from others.

Truth is critical to commerce!
It is on the foundation of truth that trust builds our agreements, that faith builds creativity, that hope builds perseverance, that achievement is gained. Truth is critical to commerce!

– Bob McCulley

Integrity. Tell the truth and be consistent. Eliminate discrepancies between what you say and what you do. Keep your promises. People can't count on you if you react one way today and another way tomorrow. (Leadership Principle #1 – Lead from high ideals.)

Reduce defensiveness. Trust develops when people feel safe and secure. When thoughts and ideas are shot down and ridiculed, it doesn't take long to realize that the climate is neither safe nor conductive to making yourself vulnerable (the precursor to opening ourselves up and placing our trust in another person). You can reduce defensive climates by providing descriptive rather than evaluative comments and avoiding game playing (such as, mechanically patting people on the back) in favor of spontaneity, expressing genuine feelings of caring and involvement, and being willing to actively seek out, listen to, understand, and utilize other people's perspectives in the projects and adventures you share. (Leadership Principle #8 – Validate Their Ideas)

Listen with an open mind and respect others' opinions. Attempt to understand and be open to what you hear. Every opinion is worth hearing, even if you don't agree with it. (Leadership Principle #6 – Be an active listener.)

Admit your mistakes. People tend to distrust those who claim to be infallible. When you've erred, others probably know it. Own up to your mistakes and apologize when you're wrong. Don't pass the buck or blame others. (Leadership Principle #11 – When you blow it, show it.)

Acknowledge meaningful contributions. If the team as a whole did something great, say so. There's plenty of recognition to go around. (Leadership Principle #4 - Provide Acknowledgement – Pay positive attention / give meaningful approval / demonstrate sincere appreciation / heartfelt praise)

Discretion. Protect confidential information and never use it against employees. (Leadership Principle #1 – Lead From High Ideals)

Support. Protect team members from political fallout, stand behind them, and search for solutions to their problems. [Prayer #2]

Avoid favoritism. Objectively hold people accountable.

In the final analysis, only you can decide whether to take the risk of trusting others and whether the risks are worth taking. This means to have others trust you, you must actively take some initiative, you can't wait for others to make the first move. "Trust is a risk game. Empowering leaders must be the first ones to ante-up." Empowering leaders always find the ante worth risking. Sowing seeds of trust with people creates the fields of collaboration necessary to achieve extraordinary results in an increasingly competitive business environment.

For more insight into the 15 Leadership Principles

See Empowering Leadership by Larry W. Dennis, Sr.

Information about the Leadership Development Lab (LDL)