The Real Skinny on Cultivating Trust at Work: Part One

For such a small word, “trust” is loaded. When you can say “I trust you completely,” you feel both confident and secure in that person’s intentions, words and actions. You can breathe easily and get on with what needs to be done. It’s priceless. The reality, however, is that you may often find yourself thinking: “Can she be trusted?” or “I have no trust in him.”   

The Value of Trust in the Workplace  

In a work community where trust between coworkers is high:

  • People take more and better risks.
  • Relationships improve and cooperation is enhanced.
  • Communication is open and conflict is reduced.
  • Job satisfaction and productivity are generally higher.

If you prefer to look at the numbers, consider that, just this past February, Harvard Business Review posted fascinating statistics on workplace trust, noting that compared with people in low-trust workplaces, those in high trust companies reported:

  • 74% less stress
  • 106% more energy at work
  • 50% higher productivity
  • 13% fewer sick days
  • 76% more engagement
  • 29% more life satisfaction
  • 40% less burnout

If you’ve experienced a deep level of trust at work, you already know that trust creates an environment that brings out the best in you and in others. 

With so many good reasons to cultivate trust, we need to ask: What creates trust?  What do I “own” or control in relation to trust? How can I build more trust in my relationships at work?  

The Trust Triad  

Dr. Duane C. Tway defined trust as “the state of readiness for unguarded interaction with someone or something.” In other words, when you trust someone, you are “real,” spontaneous and genuine with them. This doesn’t mean that “it’s all about you,” or that you “tell all” in TMI fashion; it just means that you can be yourself, without feeling that you need to be careful or guarded. But, extending trust isn’t like turning a switch. Dr. Tway explains that the act of trusting is based on these three things:

  • Your capacity for trusting – which is your own willingness to risk trusting others that is based on your life experience, what you have learned and whether or not you choose to trust or distrust other people. You control this choice.   
  • Your perception of competence – which is your perception of how capable another person is to perform competently, to come through based on what’s needed. This is a situational absence of trust that may be accurate – and therefore appropriate – from time to time. 
  • Your perception of intentions – which is your perception of the degree to which the other person is motivated by mutually serving, versus self-serving intentions. Do you believe that the other person has your interests at heart? 

How Trusts Breaks Down

Human Resource Consultant Dave Bowman explains that a coworker can erode trust by:  

  1. Acting and speaking inconsistently 
  2. Seeking personal rather than shared gain 
  3. Withholding information 
  4. Telling lies or half truths
  5. Being closed minded

Do any of these look familiar?

It can be tempting to think that building trust begins with pointing fingers at others who are falling short. I’ve never seen that type of blame work anywhere. Instead, we get more of what we want (trust) by being more of what we want (trustworthy). As with so many things, it’s an inside job that starts with becoming aware of our own trust-eroding behaviors, then consciously replacing those behaviors with the trust-building kind.   

The Leader’s Role

There are many actions leaders can take to foster a culture of trust. In-person workshops, team building activities and even online learning. Every one of these can be helpful. There’s a caveat, though. The leader needs to walk his or her own talk. Leaders need to be the living examples of what it means to be trustworthy. Why? Because the strongest influence on employee behavior is the leader’s lived example.  

Stay tuned for Part Two…

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