By Paul Plotczyk
A quick scan of today's headlines gives us plenty of reasons not to trust.
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BP Concedes Gulf Oil Spill is Bigger than Estimated
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Woman in Her 40's is 14th Linked to Tiger Woods
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Representative Mark Souder Resigns after Affair with Staffer
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Just Dance - The Lady Gaga OD Strategy (Ok, so we created this one in our last e-newsletter!)
Trust is becoming a rare commodity in our world. And, this may well have a huge impact on the success of your organization. Trust us.
This article explores that impact by:
- Defining 3 primary types of trust, and the role each type plays in the work place
- Examining how we as individuals/professionals decide to grant or withhold trust
- Exploring why we might want to give trust a chance.
What's Trust Got to Do with It?
During the past 20 years or so, at WSA we have been heavily involved in the field of leadership with companies around the globe. From that perspective, we have come to understand just how fragile, fickle and conditional trust really is, and how little thought and study trust receives.
We all know that without trust there cannot be cooperation between people, teams, departments, divisions, companies - or countries. Without trust each entity protects its own immediate interests, often to the long-term disadvantage of the individual, as well as the organization.
Trust is not a black-or-white issue. There are different types and degrees of trust and it is important to understand these differences in order to accurately assess whether trust is an issue for you or your organization.
Three Types of Trust
There are 3 fundamental types of trust:
- Personal Trust
- Expert Trust
- Systemic/Structural Trust
The impact that a lack of trust has on organizational effectiveness is determined by the degree to which people convey or withhold each type of trust. So it is important to understand the differences among the three.
Personal Trust
From this perspective, trust is based on our faith in or reliance on a person's integrity. This is trust as it is fundamentally and most widely understood. It is where we have the trust of the confidences we share without fear of betrayal. It is where we can reveal our ideas and "think out loud" without fear of having our ideas usurped.
It is from this outlook that we dole out tasks to teammates with the assurance that they will try hard not to let us down. We typically say that personal trust in the workplace develops through shared experience, affiliation and bonding, as well as knowledge of what we believe about the other person's character.
Personal trust typically exists when we can make the following types of statements:
- This person is honest and ethical.
- He will make good on his word.
- She is basically well intentioned.
- She will handle confidential information with care and discretion.
- He will be straightforward about what he doesn't know.
We have found that professionals often maintain these types of relationships based on personal trust no matter how much they advance in their professional role. But this type of relationship is unlikely to provide the breadth and depth of the often-specialized knowledge needed as the professional moves up the ladder. In these circumstances, competence matters as much as character and expert trust enters the picture.
Expert Trust
Expert trust, sometimes called, "professional trust" is when we rely on a person's competence in a specific subject area. In our daily lives we show expert trust frequently - every time we get on a plane or open our mouths at the dentist office!
In our work, we develop expert trust by working with people who consistently demonstrate their competence or mastery of particular subjects, processes or practices. Or, in the absence of experience, we look for those with the best reputations and references - from others whom we trust.
Different from personal trust, expert trust tends to be limited to particular content area(s). For example, our clients at WSA may talk to us about strategic issues or integrating an acquisition, but they would hesitate - quite correctly! - to consult us on designing a bridge or to compute the correct amount of thrust required to break out of earth's orbit.
Expert trust typically exists when we can make the following types of statements:
- This person is an expert in her field.
- Her knowledge is up-to-date.
- He presents credible information to support his recommendations.
- His expertise is applicable to our specific situation.
- She can supply advice on risks, options, and trade-offs.
System or Structural Trust
The first two distinctions are about trust from more of a relational viewpoint. System or structural trust reflects how systems or structures are created to compensate for a lack of a personal relationship or a lack of knowledge. Without the knowledge or relationship, it can be difficult for some to develop a basis for trust.
Not everyone is able to trust others without some formal or overt arrangement, and it is difficult to contract or do business with people we do not know well. Since not everyone will live up to ethical standards, we develop a system or structure with the power to enforce or coerce behaviors.
In the absence of first person knowledge, we impose rules, develop culture and social norms - customs, morals, habits - and organizational hierarchy, all of which impose either overt rules of behavior or covert norms. The system offers a solution to any possible deviance and provides the structures necessary for building trust.
High systemic or structural trust exists when can make the following statements:
- Given this person's role and responsibilities, he can offer comments or judgment untainted by his personal goals or interests.
- She in a position which makes it unlikely that she will spin or filter information.
What is your Trust MO?
The common denominator in all of the theories about the origins of trust is you. We are the ultimate arbiter in determining who we will let in to our circle of trust. Whether deciding to trust someone based on how well we know them personally, how competent they are in their particular subject, or our congruence with the laws or rules, ultimately it is all about you.
- What do you base your trust on?
- Do people have to earn your trust?
- Is trust like a bank account - when something happens you add or subtract a certain amount of trust? Is that really trust?
- Under what circumstances do you downgrade or delete your trust of an individual or entity?
- How different is our willingness to downgrade our trust for people we know - our children or someone we have taken under our wing at work - vs. those we don't know.
- Do we use trust against people?
Why Should We Trust?
At personal, professional and citizen of the world levels it is in our own self interest to trust.
Personal Level
The alternative to not trusting on a personal level would be an intolerable level of paranoia. Unless you look good in tinfoil hats you probably don't need much incentive to find a way to build trust into your personal circle.
Citizen of the World Level
At the highest level, our complex global economy simply cannot function unless people can trust that its institutions are fundamentally sound. This fact, should and oftentimes does, drive the BP's of the world to become more trustworthy.
Despite headlines that support the opposite, it is in the best interest of institutions to say what they will do, and then do what they say. And when they don't, we -- as citizens with a stake in the world in which we live in -- must find ways to express our expectations and demands, and hold institutions accountable.
Professional Level
At the professional level, where we put a significant percentage of our daily attention, we all know that if we can increase the amount of trust present in our own workplace, we can increase the results tremendously.
Imagine if everyone in your organization could be trusted to do their job well and to act with integrity. Would your organization be different than it is now? How would it feel to work there? What positive backlash would it have on other areas of your life?
In most entities, process could be reduced or eliminated and layers of oversight eliminated. (In many US companies, 15% of the people are inspecting the work of others!)
Coming Soon - Break it Down to Build it Up
If you believe that responsibly increasing your level of trust would provide personal and professional benefits then you will want to learn how to break down old and useless paradigms about what constitutes the process of developing trust - and of losing it.
Next issue we will share methods we have used to begin useful conversations about trust and its value in the workplace. If you are looking for ways to increase organizational transparency and positively impact employee engagement, increasing trust is a surefire way to achieve both.
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