Is Trust The Missing Ingredient?
As you work with more and more organizations and even join those organizations – you realize that things tend to take forever to get done. The larger the Organization, the slower things seem to go. The more people that need to be involved, the more processes and sub-processes and exceptions to those processes exist. Smaller organizations may not have the workforce, but they don’t have that slog either.
Regardless of the Organization’s size, mistrust and distrust across teams or individuals are the one consistent element that doesn’t care how big or small the Organization is. If teams don’t trust each other – everything slows down. So don’t let your Organization’s size obscure what might be slowing down your work.
Side Note: In my opinion, regularly requiring a Top-down mandate in order to make progress across Teams is a clear indicator of a Trust issue within an Organization.
If you think Trust is missing in your Organization – below are ten of the most effective ways of building Trust, according to Better Up. Remember, change in trust dynamics will not happen overnight.
In our experience, the diagram above is a touch simplistic. A change in the Core components of an Organization requires two foundational elements to make change truly last.
One. Creating Space for Trust
It would be best to establish a culture where change has space to happen – see How to Start a Movement for more. But for folks to have a place to start changing the dynamics of the Organization – the culture has to embrace Creators and Followers while nurturing a Community that encourages support for ideas and teams outside of the Organizational hierarchy.
Two. Reframe What Trust Means
Many Organizations are deficit trust Organizations – the age-old “Trust is Earned” mentality. That should be a HUGE flag for anyone on the wrong side of the Trust relationship. “Trust is Earned” can easily be weaponized and has been by many Organizations (and Executives) to quiet new ideas. Conversely, it’s the number one way Executives can protect themselves and maintain the status quo. Instead, we believe “Trust but Verify” is the better approach. Starting with a stance of Trust creates a community culture and allows a starting point of foundational Trust.
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In the end, Trust is complicated to rebuild if lost. According to a 2022 Adobe Survey, 80% of responders said, “If companies want to earn the trust of their employees, the most important thing they must do is ‘practice what they preach.'”
So, if you believe Trust is responsible for underperformance in your Organization – please review the Adobe Trust Report and Simon Sinek’s talk about building Trusting Teams. However, if you are an Executive and don’t trust your peers – that’s the place to start.
References and Resources
Better Up – How to Build Trust