[2021-11-04] Trust

I've spoken to a couple of employees in the last few days who shared a common issue: their new managers don't appear to trust them or to value what they bring to the team.

The managers seem to be displaying the opposite of what one new boss said to me years ago: "I'll trust you until I don't." With those few words, he communicated that trust was his default approach. This made such an impression on me that I've never forgotten it. By contrast, the managers of the employees I spoke to recently are communicating—likely without even knowing it—a lack of trust and value in their direct reports.

This lack of trust by managers towards their employees—and, by extension, employees towards their managers—leads to disengagement, a concept effectively described by speaker and author Bob Kelleher in his 2013 video Employee Engagement - Who’s Sinking Your Boat? Using the US and Canadian results of a worldwide Gallup study, which found that 30% of employees are engaged, 52% are disengaged, and 18% are actively disengaged, Kelleher presents an analogy of 10 employees in a boat:

Imagine if on your team, 3 were busting their butts [your paddlers], 5 were looking at the scenery [your passengers], and 2 were trying to sink the boat [your saboteurs].

That’s a lot of unrealized potential. Kelleher notes that engaged employees give discretionary effort that benefits the organization (and—I would argue—their bosses). Discretionary effort doesn’t necessarily mean working harder or longer. It can be as simple as recommending the organization as a good place to work and sharing ideas. Kelleher reports that highly engaged employees are almost 5 times more committed to helping their companies succeed, nearly 4 times more likely to recommend their company as an employer, and 2½ times more likely to suggest improvements.

Part of the blame, states Kelleher, rests with bad managers, who create active disengagement. In fact, when the managers themselves are disengaged, they are 3 times more likely to have disengaged employees.

So what can organizations and managers do to boost engagement? Kelleher says the #1 contributor to engagement is trust in management. And, in my book, trust is a two-way street. It requires managers not only to trust their employees but to be trustworthy as well, which will enhance their employees' trust in them.

Assessing and building trust

At the time I first saw Kelleher's video, I came across a blog post by leadership advisor David Irvine related to the subject of trust. Irvine writes:

Trust is the most important issue facing the world today and lies at the foundation of every relationship. Trust is the keystone of success in work and in life…. Building, restoring, and sustaining trust is your number one leadership challenge.

How do you know if others trust you? Irvine offers these 6 indicators:
  1. They seek your advice. They ask for your input, opinion, perspective and guidance.
  2. They are open and honest with you. They share good and bad news, positive and negative feedback. They are genuine and willing to have tough conversations.
  3. They challenge you. Even though you may be in a position of authority, they respectfully challenge your point of view, approach and decisions.
  4. They are competent. Trust breeds competence and results over the long term.
  5. They are relaxed around you. They are calm despite the activity around them. The opposite—tension, stress, anxiety—are indicators of a lack of trust and can destroy a workplace.
  6. They stick around. It is said that people don’t leave organizations, they leave bosses. This occurs because the employees no longer feel good about themselves around their bosses. And disengaged employees, says Kelleher, are 4 times more likely to leave their organization than engaged employees.

And what can you do to build trust? Irvine’s recommendations parallel the list above.
  1. Seek others’ input and advice. Show that you trust and value your employees’ opinions and they are more likely to return the gesture.
  2. Be open and honest with people. Admit what you don’t know. Show humility. "You don't have to be perfect to build trust; you only have to be real and honest."
  3. Challenge yourself in front of others. Acknowledge your weaknesses and what you are doing to work on them.
  4. Be competent. Show your commitment to excellence and learning.
  5. Be relaxed. "People lack trust in a stressed, unpredictable leader."
  6. Stick around. People trust others who are dependable and persistent.

Most important, suggests Irvine, be trustworthy. Employees judge whether you’re trustworthy based on how you behave when things are going badly more than when they’re going well. He argues:

Being trustworthy is about being a person of character. Character isn't how you act when life is going the way you want it to. That's easy. Character is how you act when everything around you is falling apart. Character is how you act when you are scared and angry and tired and frustrated. That's when people watch you and decide whether they will trust you.

I shared this quote frequently, particularly in my last job. We had many occasions when we felt that things were falling apart. It was during those challenging times that those of us in leadership positions showed our true colours. It was easy to show appreciation to employees when things were going well. It was much more challenging to show understanding and to focus on solutions rather than blame when things were falling apart.

Engaging the entire crew

Kelleher’s strategy for building trust shares some similarities with Irvine’s:
  1. Care about employees.
  2. Have integrity.
  3. Demonstrate competence.
  4. Focus on the organization’s purpose and values.
  5. Create pride in the organization’s contributions to the community.
  6. Encourage the virtual workplace and use cool technology, which fuels Gen Y.
  7. Encourage creativity, empowerment and innovation.

Perhaps the only thing missing from Kelleher’s rowing analogy is a coxswain—a trustworthy leader who's in the boat, motivating and encouraging their crew.

My own message to managers is twofold:
  1. Trust and value every member of your team until you have reason not to. Don't make your employees earn your trust. Give it to them as a starting point.
  2. Behave in ways that encourage your employees to trust you. Be a person of character. Be reliable and consistent. Be open with your employees and invite them to be open with you.