A lack of trust contributes to most of the unrest in the world today. It plays out in wars and disputes. It shows up in protests, politics, and discrimination. Yet, humans are hard-wired to trust. As cave dwellers, we had to trust others for our own survival. In today's gig economy, we are trusting total strangers to drive us or house us.
Creating, nurturing, and safeguarding trust may be the most important aspect of today's work environment. With constant change and an ever-increasing flow of information, the need and opportunity to establish a culture of trust on work teams is critical.
Trust is built through behaviors and within relationships. As individuals and teams come into work, they seek a safe haven, a place to engage with others. This empowers them to perform and produce.
Exactly what is trust? It's a vague concept; an intangible. Some say trust is earned, but the criteria to earn it varies from person to person. Trust is conditional. You may trust someone to complete a project on time yet not trust them to keep a secret or drive your car. Likewise, you may think you can trust people who do what they said they would do. But does that mean you can trust them, or are they just reliable?
Trust is a learned skill. Trust is an emotion. Trust is a motivator. Trust is power. Trust is a journey, a gift. Trust is earned slowly, lost quickly. Trust is essential to relationships. Trust is a choice.
What is trust to you?
To nurture a culture of trust at work, it's good practice for teams to discuss trust and what it means to them. It's a term that seldom gets mentioned, yet when it is not there, everyone knows it. One way for teams to discuss trust is to engage in an activity like the one above. Ask people to list three things that "trust" means to them, and then share those ideas leading to a discussion around trust on your team.
Creating Trust
The following key concepts can be considered antidotes to mistrust. These help to keep trust alive and in the forefront of people's thinking.
- Communication
- Transparency
- Vulnerability
- Apologizing
Communication
Communicating is the most effective way to create and maintain trust.
We are all too locked into screens, and we communicate via pixel and cyberspace. Our conversations are often shallow, fleeting. Poet David Whyte said, "the conversation is the relationship. If you have non-conversations, you have non-relationships".
Having a face-to-face conversation with a colleague, asking open-ended questions and showing curiosity about them and their lives opens waves of positive interaction. Every communication shores up trust, creates a bond, and you get to learn more about your colleagues in the process.
Transparency
is the currency of today's workplace. We have both:
Technological transparency
- availability of information in a networked world, social media, crowdsourcing.
Interpersonal transparency -
what behaviors and actions show us to be open to information, to share with others; be transparent in our dealings with people.
Vulnerability
Who hasn't made a mistake? Shown a weakness? Everyone understands what it's like to be vulnerable. Once someone shows himself to be vulnerable, it opens the door for others to do the same. Being vulnerable equalizes the playing field. It enhances both interpersonal and professional communication. It creates trust.
Apologizing
Apologizing also extends trust. It requires willful vulnerability - the ultimate act of transparency. Apologizing allows us to accept responsibility, take ownership. It is offered to mitigate a mistake, right a wrong. The decision to forgive falls on someone else once the apology is made. A genuine apology shows leadership, strength, and inner character. It is not only the right thing to do, it is the smart thing to do.
The only way you know you can trust someone is to trust them.
- Ernest Hemingway
