Trust. How do you get it? How do I create more? Where do I get it? Is it tied to people’s personality? Why do we not seem to have it? What can I buy to generate more of it on our team? Why is there trust so good? Do you need more trust on your team? Would you take more trust if you could get more? Why is it important?
These are some of the questions I’m asked or questions that have been posed on the years. In my opinion if you don’t have trust or it isn’t strong you will not only have that desire, but you will see/feel that in many ways.
People often start with many, some, or all of the following: I want to have strong expectations, we will be selfless towards our team, we will be great delegators, we will show great org chart agility, the motivation will be incredible, we will develop our people, etc.
Well, without TRUST you will not only not score high in the above areas, but you’ll be failing there, so let’s explore this more. TRUST is all in our ability to connect with others, our ability to slow down and make connections, often through the idea of “How can I develop you? How can I make you see what I see in you? How can I coach you into a place of exceeding your expectations for yourself?” In an article posted in the Harvard Business Review, “The Neuroscience of Trust” the article explores management behaviors that foster TRUST. The article explores how these behaviors are measurable and can be managed to improve performance. In short…if YOU execute these behaviors you will see HIGHER TRUST in your organization.
1. Recognize Excellence – Does your organization publicly or privately recognize excellence? Or are we dialed in on the low performers so hard we forget about our stars?
2. Induce “Challenge stress” – Do we know our employees well enough to give them stretch projects that are obtainable/doable? Hard to do if our 1v1 time doesn’t exist or is all about performance i.e. KPI’s
3. Give people discretion in how they do their work – Once you have them trained…do we give them more than one way to solve for x? Think about bias and the role they play here?
4. Enable job crafting – How have you worked to understand employees’ strengths compounded with their interest/abilities?
5. Share Information broadly – How well do your employees know your goals, strategies, and tactics? At the division, department or company level?
6. Intentionally build relationships – How well do you know your employees? Tough to truly develop someone if your knowledge of them is shallow…
7. Facilitate whole person growth – How can I make you a better person…if that takes place you will also be a better employee.
8. Show vulnerability – Let them work and be intentional about NOT being the “answer man”
“Ultimately, you cultivate TRUST by setting a clear direction, giving people what they need to see it through, and getting out of their way. It’s not about being easy on your employees or expecting less from them. High-trust companies hold people accountable but without micromanaging them. They treat people like responsible adults.”