Architects of Trust: Building Trust in the Workplace Ann Brown, MA A&R Brown Business Group Inc. www.bccq.org Some Survey Numbers 70% of employees believe that trust and loyalty within the firms is declining 60% do not believe that their management is upright, ethical and honest 70% won’t speak up because they fear repercussions A&R Brown Business Group Inc. 50% believe that lack of trust is a problem in their workplace (57 organizations surveyed) One Bottom Line Number •6,500 employees surveyed at 76 Holiday Inn international hotels •Correlated with customer satisfaction scores, personnel records and hotel revenues •0.125 (1/8th) improvement in employee trust ratings (5 point scale) should improve hotel profitability by $250,000 A&R Brown Business Group Inc. •Hotels where managers were perceived to follow through on their promises were more profitable What is Trust? Trust n.& v. 1. (a) a firm belief in the reliability or truth or strength etc. of a person or thing (b) the state of being relied on 2. a confident expectation 3. (a) a thing or person committed to one’s care (b) the resulting obligation or responsibility (OED) A&R Brown Business Group Inc. The act of placing yourself in the vulnerable position of relying on others to treat you in a fair, open, and honest way Where Do We Trust? • Social trust - between people • Trust in organizations - between organizations and those they serve • Inter- organizational trust - between organizations A&R Brown Business Group Inc. • Intra - organizational trust - within organizations Some Trust Jargon Relational trust Organizational trust Active trust Passive trust Dispositional trust A&R Brown Business Group Inc. • • • • • The Importance of Trust “... in low trust groups, interpersonal relationships interfere with and distort perceptions of the problem. Energy and creativity are diverted from finding comprehensive, realistic solutions, and members use the problem as an instrument to minimize their vulnerability. Zand, 1972 R. Wayne Boss, 1977 Harvard Business Review, A&R Brown Business Group Inc. In contrast, in high trust groups there is less socially generated uncertainty and problems are solved more effectively.” “Under conditions of high trust, problem solving tends to be creative and productive. Under conditions of low trust, problem solving tends to be degenerative and ineffective.” Importance of Trust Nirmalya Kuma, Harvard Business Review November/December 1996 Taylor McConnell in Group Leadership for Self Realization A&R Brown Business Group Inc. “[Trust] creates a reservoir of goodwill that helps preserve the relationship when, as will inevitably happen, one party engages in an act that its partner considers destructive.” “The most productive people are the most trusting people. If this seems to be an astonishing statement, it shows how distorted the concept of trust has become. Trust is one of the most essential qualities of human relationships. Without it, all human interaction, all commerce, all society would disappear.” The Importance of Trust A&R Brown Business Group Inc. • Productive relationships are based on trust – often unrecognized and taken for granted • It’s a resource that increases with use • Enables coordination without coercion • Enables commitments to be undertaken in situations of high risk Reasons for Low Trust Frame of reference - past experiences •Feelings - low self esteem, vulnerability •Facts - past results (or perception of past results) Perception of attributes of the trustee •capacity and ability •profession • intentions (virtue) A&R Brown Business Group Inc. •competence Roots of Low Trust in the Workplace  Lack of inclusion  Feelings of deprivation and loss  Perceptions of vulnerability  Previous experiences – yours or other peoples A&R Brown Business Group Inc.  No positive attachment to a “boss” Trust (or not) in Change A&R Brown Business Group Inc. • All change creates distrust. Trust is often the first casualty of change. • Effective communication depends on the capability and willingness of the receiver • Concepts of fairness and clear process shapes workable relationships Fallout From Change A&R Brown Business Group Inc. • Older forms of hierarchy being replaced • New webs or networks may be based on business processes • New accountabilities requiring people to work in teams • May require new skill sets, attitudes and understanding e.g. initiative, relational competence, time management Biggest Trust Buster in Change Organizational change entails a risk of generating real or perceived misalignment between a manager’s words and deeds A&R Brown Business Group Inc. Behavioural Integrity Employees perception of the pattern of word/deed alignment EMPLOYEE TRUST Intent to stay with the organization Organizational citizenship behaviour A&R Brown Business Group Inc. Willingness to promote and implement change Performance Organizational Citizenship How people behave in the organization – norms. • Coworker trust and teams Environment for trust affects motivation in groups HIGH TRUST LOW TRUST Group Goals Individual Goals • Voluntary Participation – covert/overt resistance A&R Brown Business Group Inc. • Knowledge sharing versus knowledge hoarding Characteristics of Trust Builders  Faith in life and hope in the goodness of mankind A “healing” attitude  Able to self disclose  Able to risk being open and vulnerable  Self acceptance  Self awareness - clear values, boundaries A&R Brown Business Group Inc.  Architect of Trust Taking the responsibility to build trust Authenticity - finding your voice Emotional Intelligence - tuning into your own emotions and those of others. Walking the Talk - actions speak louder than words - espoused values v. values in action A&R Brown Business Group Inc. Climate Building - creating an environment where people can bring forth their ideas, values and concerns Choosing to Trust Why do I trust? Why do I not trust? WHAT ASSUMPTIONS AND BELIEFS ARE AT THE BASIS OF THIS CHOICE? feelings What are the facts A&R Brown Business Group Inc. What are my How do you Trust? I don’t trust anyone until they are shown to be trustworthy 2 3 4 5 A&R Brown Business Group Inc. 1 I trust everyone until they are shown NOT to be trustworthy What Are Your Trust Patterns? A&R Brown Business Group Inc. • People, groups and institutions that I connect with • Do I trust/not trust them? • Why do I trust/not trust them? • What beliefs, assumptions or facts am I basing this on? Who Should I Trust? Interests: Does this person share my goals, values and beliefs? Competence: Does this person have the required knowledge and ability.? Will this person honor commitments? Reliability: Will this person tell me what I need to know? Attitude: Does this person want me to succeed? A&R Brown Business Group Inc. Accountability: The Trust Building Equation Intention Outcomes Preparation Mechanics Trust A&R Brown Business Group Inc. Self Knowledge Trust Builders Implementing Change A&R Brown Business Group Inc. • Understand the climate. • Understand the level of resilience – future shock • Are you stepping on values, norms and traditions? • Practice the very best communication – frequently • Resistance is normal and healthy – listen • Don’t ignore the signs – it won’t go away Trust Building Actions COMMUNICATION • Solve problems through direct communication.Be explicit. If compromise is productive, do it in communication, not in your mind alone • Ask non-assumptive questions. Inquiry not advocacy. • Practice deep listening - suspend judgement • Look for the positive - acknowledge the intent first • Validate success or new effort. Share credit generously RESULTS When in doubt about taking on a commitment, air your concerns. Only make promises you can keep. • Schedule regular opportunities for input and feedback • Be timely • Be willing to be wrong A&R Brown Business Group Inc. • Hidden Trust Busters Distance Barriers - telephone, email, fax - lacks the “high touch” - psychological separation Physical Barriers - the structure of the meeting place Language Barriers - language used may not be the first language of both parties. • North America - Demonstrated performance over time • China, Latin America, Arab countries - relationships social interaction over time A&R Brown Business Group Inc. Cultural Barriers - trust may mean different things and be built in different ways e.g. Common Organizational Trust Based Practices Effectiveness and Productivity Improvement and Change Culture and Moral Employee Retention/Turnover A&R Brown Business Group Inc. • • • • Communication Advocacy A western academic & business tradition that stresses testing one viewpoint against the other to find the strongest. We focus almost exclusively on advocacy critiquing - adversarial thinking - confrontation - presenting our views and arguing strongly for them - debating forcefully to influence others A&R Brown Business Group Inc. Most managers are trained to be advocates Communication Inquiry  A complementary skill to advocacy that seeks to uncover information about why a particular view is held Asks questions about underlying assumptions, beliefs, reasoning Explores why do you believe this ? Not a technique to cross examine people or find fault A&R Brown Business Group Inc. Supported by attitude of wanting to understand, explore, learn, expand Appreciative Inquiry Draws on research and studies that show how we get more of what we focus on and looks for the best of what might be. Problem Solving • Assumes situations are sources of infinite capacity and imagination • Good, better, possibilities • Expanded vision of preferred future. Creates new energy fast. • What to grow A&R Brown Business Group Inc. • Assumes situations are problems to be overcome • Problem, symptoms, causes, solutions, action plan, intervention • Breaks things into pieces guaranteeing fragmented responses. Slow, linear change. • What to fix. Appreciative Inquiry Communication Listening • Group of obstetricians with similar competence and skills JAMA research A&R Brown Business Group Inc. • Drs. perceived as poor listeners who spent less time or were more abrupt in their interactions had more malpractice suits that those who were perceived as attentive, who took time and who listened. Communication Deep Listening Level III:Intuitive Listening FOCUS ON YOU at the Essence level Level II: Focused Listening at the Feeling level at the Word level. FOCUS ON ME A&R Brown Business Group Inc. Level I:Internal Listening Results Project Management A&R Brown Business Group Inc. • Keep it simple • Traditional good project practices – small time frames, lots of wins • Full participation in the planning • Clear roles, responsibilities • Full understanding of what participation and commitment to plan means Big Snakes, Little Ladders • Trust builds incrementally • Distrust has a catastrophic effect • 5 times the effort to rebuild A&R Brown Business Group Inc. Why Is It So Hard to Rebuild Trust? Why is it hard for people to do? Typically involves admissions of guilt, apology, compensation and/or punishment - each of which may have significant costs. • Why is it hard to accept from someone? Involves repeating a decision that was proven to be wrong the first time. A&R Brown Business Group Inc. • Importance of Trust within Organizations Marsha Sinetar, Organizational Dynamics, 2001 A&R Brown Business Group Inc. “Although an organization obviously cannot succeed without high levels of trust between members, most aggressive companies do little to actively build trust. The typical corporation spends huge sums of money training its managers in interpersonal skills, but pays lip service to the critical issue of trust.” Why Not? demands on overstretched managers and executives, skill set that takes us into intimidating territory, requires significant time and energy, and demands risk • easier to spend two days learning new project management software, or two weeks adopting a new strategic thinking model than to undertake the complex exploration of building trust and connection with other human beings. A&R Brown Business Group Inc. • Maintaining an Environment of Trust Challenges As society and institutions become more complex the attribution of blame and responsibility for failures becomes diffuse. (I see you, I blame you so I don’t trust you) • Complex organizations make it hard to deliver consistent service and conduct • Need for “quick trust” - being in a hurry to complete the process - pace/workloads • Trust in government is a scarce resource A&R Brown Business Group Inc. • High Trust Organizations A&R Brown Business Group Inc. • Experience ½ the average turnover of industry peers • Higher productivity and profitability • More qualified candidates for open positions • Higher levels of customer satisfaction and loyalty • More adaptive organizational structures • Constructive strategic alliances • Responsive virtual teams • Effective crisis management • Reduced transaction and litigation costs The People Result Investment in becoming Architects of Trust, develops an organization full of employees that That's competitive advantage A&R Brown Business Group Inc. • trust management • willing to speak up and challenge the process to improve the way things are, • bring commitment, innovation and energy to their work