Without Trust, There is Nothing

by Susan Goodfellow

 A few years ago, I worked with a group of executives selected to undertake some research into issues impacting employee engagement and innovation. The key finding of our study was the importance of trust as a foundation for job satisfaction, motivation, engagement and effectiveness.  Additional primary research was conducted with over 100 staff members across the organization to better understand how, as executives, we can create a culture of trust in both our organizations and our personal lives. 

The results showed the importance of being consistent, the need for a clear vision and strategy, personal integrity, sharing and delegation of power, open communication and a personal touch.  The main findings are highlighted below.

1.   Be Consistent

• Know what you stand for and then stick to it
• Establish a clear sense of direction and then let people know
•  Follow through on your commitments
• Be supportive of staff’s work when issues get heated
• Be true to your word
•  Treat everyone with respect

Don’t do the following:

Betray confidences, avoid hard decisions, forget your commitments, pick favourites, waste staff’s time and take credit for other people’s work, micromanage, ask for opinions and input if the decision is already made, and finally, don’t belittle people – it makes staff wonder what you say when they aren’t there.

2.   Be Open and Communicate Frequently

• Share information and provide context
• Keep staff in the loop
•  Be candid
• Encourage open discussions around successes and failure
•  Listen before giving advice
• Deliver tough messages

Don’t do the following:

Hide in your office, be impatient, cut off discussion or dialogue, tell others information about staff or their work before you have spoken with them first, and don’t gossip.

3.   Share and Delegate Control

• Have confidence in your staff’s ability to do their job
• Provide the necessary resources
• Share the credit for work completed
• Ask questions and encourage staff to solve their own problems
• Provide as much information as you can

Don’t do the following:
Micromanage, steal credit from staff for the work that has been done, hide from disagreement or debate, be a control freak and always manage from a position of power, take over work or projects or give them to others without staff’s knowledge and discussion.

4.   Be Human

• Make a genuine personal connection with your staff
• Get to know your staff’s names
•  Have a sense of fun
•  Make things that are important to your staff important to you

 Don’t do the following:

Ignore people, be insincere, try to please everyone, be impersonal, be abrasive, aggressive, and hard to approach and don’t be inaccessible and unforgiving.