What’s Trust Got to Do With It?
May 25, 2010
“I don’t care who you are or what your title is, if I don’t trust you, I can’t work with you!”, Louis said vehemently.
We were in a leadership development workshop, discussing the integral role that trust plays within an organization, particularly between a manager and his or her team members. Louis serves as a Lead Operator on an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico. His rationale behind this statement isn’t hard to understand. In his role, he puts life and limb on the line every day, and if he can’t be absolutely sure that his co-workers are being safe and not cutting corners, he doesn’t want to work with them.
You may not be in a life and death situation in your workplace, but I can assure you, trust is just as important. Trust is an integral part of being a leader, whether you’re a leader by title or by influence. Frankly, it is an important part of any relationship.
Stephen Covey, author of “7 Habits of Highly Effective People” compares trust in a relationship to an emotional bank account. We can make deposits or withdrawals to the account. When we follow through and do what we say we’re going to do, we’re making deposits. If we make enough deposits, trust is earned and our account earns interest and grows. When we let someone down or fail to honor a commitment, we make a withdrawal. If we make too many withdrawals, our “account” will be “overdrawn” and trust is shaken.
Trust can’t be compartmentalized. Cheryl Biehl says, “One of the realities of life is that if you can’t trust a person at all points, you can’t truly trust him at any point”. To earn trust, our actions must be consistent. If I’m only trustworthy in some things but not all, it’s like cooking a huge pot of gumbo, then adding strychnine to the pot and saying that only part of the gumbo is poisoned. Now, give me a shot or two of Tabasco in my gumbo, but I’ll pass on the poison! Consistency is the key.
Are you earning your team members’ trust by acting consistently?
It goes both ways, too. “He who trusts in others will be trusted in return.” One thing that is apparently tough for many leaders to do is to place their trust in others. When I was just starting out in my career, I worked with a manager who assigned me an important project and let me run with it. Nothing could have been more motivating or inspiring than having her place her confidence in me. I truly wanted to do a great job so that I could show her she had made the right judgment call.
When you let a team member know that you believe in them, they will want to produce positive results – they’ll run through a brick wall for you – anything not to let you down.
Think about someone who made a significant difference in your life. Maybe it was a boss, coach, teacher, or even a parent or grandparent. Think about how it felt when they expressed their confidence in your abilities.
Are you showing your team members that you believe in them?
What’s trust got to do with it? In leadership and in relationships, it’s got everything to do with it.
Comments
Got something to say?
