If you don’t have TRUST nothing else matters!
The top consultants in the world reiterate this truth time and again. Patrick Lencioni, for instance, wrote an entire book, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, noting the foundational element to any healthy team is TRUST at all levels. Two thousand years ago, Jesus said, “…the truth will set you free”. The idea that TRUST is essential is nothing new and yet continues to be something we all struggle with.
The concept of TRUST isn’t difficult to grasp. It’s simply, “Do what you say and say what you do”. How you gain trust is also not a perplexing idea. It’s simply, “Do what you say and say what you do”.
Easy to understand but challenging to live.
Yet, it’s well worth the effort, both in your workplace and personal life. While the advantages are too numerous to adequately share here are 5 significant benefits to building a trusting environment.
5 Significant Benefits to Building an Environment of TRUST
- RESPECT: The typical corporate environment consists of a “kiss up and kick down culture” filled with backbiting, gossip, and slander (you’ve probably experienced the plethora of side meetings after the official meeting). However, find a culture deeply embedded with trust and you’ll discover a place saturated in mutual respect. This being respect for peers, respect for leaders, respect for the organization, and respect for oneself.
- MORALE: Low trust and low morale are close companions. Show me a place or individual with a lack of trust and I’ll show you a place or individual with low morale. Conversely, find a place or individual where trust is high, and I guarantee you will discover high morale.
- EMPOWERMENT: A trusting team is an empowered team. This is critical considering an empowered team will always err on the side of over delivering and under promising rather than the typical over promising and under delivering.
- CHANGE: We’ve all heard and experienced the truth that “change is the only constant in life” and, as we know, with change comes fear, discomfort, and questions. An organization that has consistently fought for high trust will have the respect, morale, and invested team to work through the anxiety and unknowns of change.
- LOYAL TEAMS: If you’ve spent many years in the workplace, you’ve certainly experienced the frustrating and energy sapping corporate silos and isolating behavior that exists in most organizations. No one likes it, but how do you eliminate it? Simply stating you have an “open door” policy, claiming you are a feedback organization, or having a pithy statement about trust painted on your wall, in no way assures there is trust. The ONLY way a leader can build trust is to listen more than you speak, respond with empathy and understanding, and admit when you’ve failed. Humble leaders create loyal teams.
No person or organization suddenly arrives at TRUST.It’s a constant battle. As Bill Bush stated in this week’s podcast, “Trust is like roller skating uphill.You’re never sitting still. You’re either moving forward or you’re moving backward.”
