Organisational Behaviour: Trust Me!!!

Trustworthiness is a critical parameter for gauging the quality of any relationship.

Here's how it influences corporate performance...

Key learnings:

• Trustworthiness is necessary for success.
• Barriers to building a culture of trust are largely internal.

Trust we must!

It is the essence of human existence. Without trust no relationship can be forged. Hence, any entity that thrives on human interactions has to create an environment of trustworthiness. Corporate organisations are no exception.

While some may argue that organisations are professional bodies that work on pure mathematics, it is also true that their success depends to a large extent on the quality of relationships between various corporate participants. It is this lever of corporate performance that in essence drives success. Without an understanding of the intentions and trustworthiness of different participants, success will be elusive for business leaders.

The Measure and Barriers

Trust is of relative value. How much one trusts the other depends upon the quality of relationship that the two share, which in turn is determined by incidents and dealings that transpire between them. Therefore trust, in a way, is also incidental. In the context of workplace relationships, a senior manager gauges his subordinates on the basis of the trustworthiness that they demonstrate and vice versa. Similarly, the staff at large places trust in the organisation by scrutinising the trustworthiness of organisational practices.

With the spate of scandals panning the corporate calendar, trust is being highlighted again as a valuable performance parameter for leaders and managers. Governance bodies too are gauging corporate ethics and trustworthiness more intently. This apart, executive pay packages are also bursting at the seams, making the race to the top more prone to breach of trust and rigging.
Trust is not a stand-alone feature. It pervades all functions, including employee recruitment, retention, motivation, interpersonal relations and workplace discipline. Thus, when trust is referred to in the organisational context, it holds great relevance not only at the micro-level but also at the macro-level of corporate performance.

How can organisations build a high-trust culture? According to research on corporate ethics and trustworthiness, trust in organisations is largely gauged by the measure of trustworthiness among senior managers. The tone set at the top dictates the sway in the organisation. Thus, the onus of building a high-trust culture lies with the senior management. If workers see their bosses adhering to ethics, then the probability of trustworthiness among workers will also rise. Building trust is not a difficult exercise given a conducive work environment. However, there are certain barriers that leaders and managers often stumble upon. The most commonly cited hurdles to trust-building include:

• Inability of leaders and managers to deal with poor performers
• Lack of examples of trustworthiness in the executive leadership team
• A feeling of helplessness among employees to bring about change

Overcoming these barriers is not very difficult if leaders and the top management team make a conscious attempt.

Trust-building method

Organisations can build a high-rust culture by fine-tuning certain practices. The methodology involves three basic steps.

Fairness and justice:

Organisations need to develop a fair and just system of working where employees view corporate policies and actions as righteous and free from bias.

Follow up of plans:

Leaders and mangers need to ensure that they stick to their plans and bring them to the culminating point. Leaving plans midway can create a poor impression on employees, and may erode the trust they place in their seniors and their foresight.

Vision for the future:

Leaders need to give workers a reason to believe. This can be best achieved by showing them a vision that is truly inspiring, but within achievable limits. Building dreams and aiding their fulfilment is the best way to create a trust-driven culture.

The method in trust-building is fairly simple. However, it can go haywire if employees begin to read disparity between what is being said and what is done. The two have to be synchronised lest the employees begin to lose faith even before they have it!