“If you think your bank trusts you so much, why do they chain their pens to the counter?”
I don’t know how successful the campaign was, but the ad was extremely amusing and surely was instrumental in freeing a lot of enslaved pens.
Yes, my latest installment is all about trust: one of those intangible ingredients of humanity that lets us pursue life, liberty and happiness. Without trust, it’s unlikely we would marry, vote, drive our streets, see a doctor or dine in a restaurant — among many other things of course. As pointed out above, trust is also an essential component in the workplace. I won’t dwell on the definition of mistrust in the workplace, because we all know what it’s like to have an obnoxious boss who micromanages, watches the clock and otherwise regards employees as tools rather than teammates.
Contrarily, (and hopefully) you may have also had a boss who instilled trust. If you did, chances are he or she exhibited one of the following behaviours:
- Talking straight
- Demonstrating respect
- Creating transparency
- Righting wrongs
- Showing loyalty
- Delivering results
- Getting better
- Confronting reality
- Clarifying expectation
- Practicing accountability
- Listening first
- Keeping commitments
- Extending trust
Of course instilling trust is very important for a harmonious work dynamic, but it really goes far deeper than that.
An organization replete with trust has a powerful competitive advantage. Turnover is reduced, loyalty is increased and micromanaging is eliminated. And all this with a view to focusing on what the business is there for in the first place: to efficiently and profitably engage in commerce. The 13 behaviours I listed above was composed by the late great Dr. Stephen Covey, business guru and author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. He sums up the matter of trust like this: “Trust is the glue of life. It’s the most essential ingredient in effective communication. It’s the foundational principle that holds all relationships.”
“Trust is the glue of life. It’s the most essential ingredient in effective communication. It’s the foundational principle that holds all relationships.” —Steven Covey
As business leaders, if we all fully understood this, much of the rest becomes academic. Trust me on this.
Thanks for reading,
Greg
