As companies must be fast, adaptable, agile, and courageous to compete, one of the most
important elements is the ability to trust.
Trust is more important than ever before because without trust, “you will never create the
deep engagement and sense of safety people need to take risks, disagree, and innovate.”
Employees must be able to trust leaders and vice versa as well as each other. Trust
must permeate the entire culture. And because trust begins with leaders, it's important to
make sure we're not inadvertently doing things to squelch its presence.
Not Asking For Help
When things go wrong, your impulse may be to keep information to yourself, hoping the
problem will go away. This not only damages trust, it vastly reduces the chances that the
problem will be resolved quickly, since problems swept under the rug tend to get worse, not
better. Better to tell it like it is. Just say, "I've got some bad news to share." (You may
actually feel a surge of relief just to have said the words.) Then explain what the problem is
and suggest two or more alternative actions that might be taken to address it.
Not Doing What You Say You Were Going to Do
This is basic, yet many leaders break their promises as a matter of course.
This can have a devastating effect on trust. Trust builds slowly over time, and it takes only
one broken promise to lose all the ground you've gained
"If you promise an employee you'll provide the resources she needs to get a project done,
and then you leave her in the lurch, why should she work hard for you in the future?". "She
won't. Employees trust us when we act predictably and consistently with what we promise.
Think carefully before you make a promise, because it's crucial that you fulfill it, or at least
communicate why you are no longer able to do so.
Undercommunicating
In times of uncertainty, it's especially important to communicate. Don't leave people
hanging. Where there is a communication void, people will fill it with the worst possible
scenario. It's just human nature. It's always better to tell the truth even when it's bad
news than to be evasive or silent. (And the news almost certainly isn't as bad as what
they're imagining.
Focusing on Compliance,
rather than Achieving Shared Goals Earlier this year United Airlines aggressively removed a
passenger from an aircraft, causing a publicity and legal disaster , partly because United employees have been taught to follow the rules to the letter. Emphasis on rigid rule following can be dangerous. Better to make the end goal crystal clear to
everyone and then trust employees to do the right thing.
Keeping Your Weakness a Secret
It's tempting (and human) to try to cover up or at least minimize our own shortcomings and
mistakes. Yet we should be doing the exact opposite. The best leaders are those who
realize and are willing to admit that they don't know it all and aren't "the best" at
everything. Plus, people appreciate vulnerability. Not only does revealing our weaknesses
make people like and trust you more, it lets them know upfront what to expect, so they can
act accordingly
Thinking Trust Will Occur on its Own
Consider this example: An office furniture company was experiencing sales declines, and
each team leader blamed the other functions for the problem. So the leader had the group
spend a morning conducting some simple trust building exercises. Each team member
shared a challenge from their childhood, and others took turns sharing what they
appreciated about each other, and what behaviors were getting in the way of success
Believing Lack of Trust Results from a Character Flaw
Because we all want people to trust us, we feel threatened and ashamed when there is
evidence that they don't. As a result, we avoid discussing the subject altogether. We
certainly don't explore what we can do to build trust. The lack of trust is not an indictment
on your character but rather a simple fact. If we can learn to see the problem objectively,
we can take steps to remedy it
Avoiding Conflict
In all areas of life, conflict happens. In any organization, people are going to disagree on
the best way to do things. Tough decisions must be made, which, inevitably, will make
some people happy and others unhappy. From time to time "bad apples" will crop up that
need to be dealt with. If you're a leader who avoids conflict at all costs, transparent
communication can't occur, productivity falters as decisions take forever to be made, high
performers get fed up and leave, and in general you're seen as weak or wishy washy.
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