Building trust: Hallmark of a growing company

Trust forms the foundation for effective communication, employee retention, and employee motivation and contribution of discretionary energy, the extra effort that people voluntarily invest in work. It is of paramount importance to remember that ‘trust will beget trust’.

We must ask ourselves, ‘Do we walk the talk? Do we practice what we instruct others to think and do with regard to attitude?’ Most things are easier said than done.

When trust exists in an organisation or in a relationship, almost everything else is easier and more comfortable to achieve. It is unfortunate that CEOs scream repeatedly for teamwork and higher productivity without first laying a strong and sustainable foundation of trust across the company.

Gain the competitive edge

Whether you like it or not, people form impressions about you based on such factors as appearance and attitude. When it comes to building trust and rapport, there is nothing more important than making a favourable first impression.

It’s important to remember that in most cases, your prospect’s first impression of you will be made over the phone or from a voice message you leave.

Here are some suggestions to help you create a favourable first impression:

1. Show up on time and be well prepared.

2. Maintain a well-groomed appearance and dress appropriately for your market.

3. Be upbeat and personable without becoming overly familiar.

How do the best leaders build trust?

The first job of any leader is to inspire trust. Trust is confidence born of two dimensions: character and competence. Character includes your integrity, motive, and intent with people. Competence includes your capabilities, skills, results, and track record. Both dimensions are vital.

With the increasing focus on ethics in our society, the character side of trust is fast becoming the price of entry in the new global economy. However, the differentiating and often ignored side of trust – competence – is equally essential. You might think a person is sincere, even honest, but you won’t trust that person fully if he or she doesn’t get results. And the opposite is true. A person might have great skills and talents and a good track record, but if he or she is not honest, you’re not going to trust that person either.

The best leaders begin by framing trust in economic terms for their companies.

When an organisation recognises that it has low trust, huge economic consequences can be expected.

Everything will take longer and everything will cost more because of the steps organisations will need to take to compensate for their lack of trust. These costs can be quantified and, when they are, suddenly leaders recognise how low trust is not merely a social issue, but that it is an economic matter. The dividends of high trust can be similarly quantified, enabling leaders to make a compelling business case for trust.

The best leaders then focus on making the creation of trust an explicit objective. It must become like any other goal that is focused on, measured, and improved. It must be communicated that trust matters to management and leadership. It must be expressed that it is the right thing to do and it is the economic thing to do. One of the best ways to do this is to make an initial baseline measurement of organisational trust and then to track improvements over time.

The true transformation starts with building credibility at the personal level. The foundation of trust is your own credibility, and it can be a real differentiator for any leader. A person’s reputation is a direct reflection of their credibility, and it precedes them in any interactions or negotiations they might have. When a leader’s credibility and reputation are high, it enables them to establish trust fast – speed goes up, cost goes down.

13 Behaviours of high-trust leaders worldwide

1. Talk straight

2. Demonstrate respect

3. Create transparency

4. Right the wrongs

5. Show loyalty

6. Deliver results

7. Get better

8. Confront reality

9. Clarify expectation

10. Practice accountability

11. Listen first

12. Keep commitments

13. Extend trust

Remember that the 13 behaviours always need to be balanced by each other (e.g. talk straight needs to be balanced by demonstrate respect) and that any behaviour pushed to the extreme can become a weakness.

Depending on your roles and responsibilities, you may have more or less influence on others. However, you can always have extraordinary influence on your starting points: Self-trust (the confidence you have in yourself – in your ability to set and achieve goals, to keep commitments, to walk your talk, and also with your ability to inspire trust in others) and relationship trust (how to establish and increase the trust accounts we have with others).

Building trust among employees

Most people will agree that trust is perhaps the most important element of a harmonious, synergistic and efficient work environment. Organisations that have trust among employees are more successful compared to organisations that do not have it.

I recall the days when I was HR Director at Sterling Winthrop, a US Multinational. The operation in Sri Lanka was known as Mackwoods Winthrop. In the Sri Lanka operation, we had the head office at the Carsons Building, Dharmapala Mawatha, Colombo 7, whilst the factory (manufacturing/packaging facility) was at Muttwal. The plant workers trusted the management based upon the openness, transparency and candour that were practiced by the management.

Several attempts were made by politicians of the left wing to start a trade union in the plant. But these politicians were turned away by the plant workers themselves. Until Smithkline Beechan bought over Sterling Health on a world-wide merger, there was no trade union at all in the company. This is just one of the many advantages that a management of a company can enjoy only if they practice professionalism and fair play to elicit trust.

The important question is: ‘How can we build trust in the workforce?’ Hence building trust starts from the top, since trustfulness – and trustworthiness – can exist only if top management sets the example, and then ensures that it percolates into every department of the organisation.

The following ways are recommended in which leaders can build trust in their teams:

Establish and maintain integrity

It is the foundation of trust in any organisation. Integrity must begin at the top and then move down. This means, among other things, keeping promises and always telling the truth, no matter how difficult it might be. If its people have integrity, an organisation can be believed.

Communicate vision and values

Communication is important, since it provides the artery for information and truth. By communicating the organisation’s vision, management defines where it’s going. By communicating its values, the methods for getting there are established.

Consider all employees as equal partners

Trust is established when even the newest rookie, a part-timer, or the lowest paid employee feels important and part of the team. This begins with management not being aloof, as well as getting out and meeting the troops. This should be followed by leaders seeking opinions and ideas (and giving credit for them), knowing the names of employees and their families and treating one and all with genuine respect.

Focus on shared, rather than personal goals

When employees feel everyone is pulling together to accomplish a shared vision, rather than a series of personal agendas, trust results. This is the essence of teamwork. When a team really works, the players trust one another.

Do what’s right, regardless of personal risk

We all know intuitively what’s “right” in nearly every situation. Following this instinctive sense, and ignoring any personal consequences will nearly always create respect from those around us. From this respect will come trust.

For more reading pleasure, refer http://www.leadershipnow.com/CoveyOnTrust.html