Productivity, reliability and accountability are all key elements in fully realizing the potential of your team or organization. But one of the most important values, essential to realizing potential and achieving excellence is often ignored — trust.
Maybe it’s because trust is often taken for granted. New employees sign confidentiality agreements and review company expectations and policy. You then trust them to adhere to company policy and procedures. But trust has the power to do much more than make you feel confident that your employees are following the company rulebook.All workplaces benefit from trust – some more than others.
Trust, or the lack thereof, directly impacts employees’:
- Motivation
- Confidence
- Creativity
- Loyalty
- Morale
- Productivity
- Reliability
- Accountability
One of the best reminders of this is the RSAnimate video, based on the Daniel Pink lecture, “Drive – the Truth About What Motivates Us”. This entertaining 10-minute video looks at the impact of trust, freedom and autonomy on productivity and motivation. (If you haven’t visited the RSA site yet, check it out. They’ve got dynamic and impactful videos that are kind of shorter, animated versions of a TedTalk.)
Knowing that we are trusted — not just for our ability to keep secrets and follow rules — but trusted because we know that our boss trusts our abilities and contributions is highly motivating. With trust and positive reinforcement from our bosses, employees tend to:
- Surpass expectations
- Take on greater responsibility
- Share their creative ideas without hesitation
- Offer new solutions to old problems
- Demonstrate greater respect and support for their teammates
- Feel greater job satisfaction
That sounds pretty great, right? Now here’s the tricky part. As a boss, team leader, supervisor or CEO, you can’t just assume that your team knows that you trust them —you need to tell them.
When staff members have earned your trust, you need to tell them and discuss what that could mean to their work, their career aspirations and your company goals.
Make sure they understand the benefits of honouring that trust and what the risks are of breaching it. Then simply trust them. Let them shine. And acknowledge them when they do.
As the rest of the team observes what being a trusted employee means within your organization, they’ll do their best to earn your trust, too. Imagine what a workplace with a culture of collaborative and respectful trust could achieve. Now that’s got some potential!
~ Maureen Douglas, CPF-IAF
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