Ruth Cane Blog

I started a list one morning recently of all those that I would be trusting that day, and by the time I reached ten I had to take a break and fortify myself with a cup of coffee!

My list included people I know very well – such as my husband; people I know quite well – such as the physiotherapist I would be seeing later that day; people I know slightly like Jimmy at the garage who ensures my car will get me there and back, and complete strangers such as the other drivers on the road who I trust to drive safely. 

Then I thought about some of the businesses and institutions I trust every day with all my worldly goods – the bank, my pension company, my insurers, the list goes on and on. And when I trust an organisation, who exactly am I trusting? The individuals who lead and operate it, the organisation as a whole or simply a brand promise? 

When I was invited to write this blog I realised that although trust comes up frequently in leadership articles, especially the benefits within the workplace, such as higher engagement and motivation, better health and well-being and overall happier environments, we rarely talk about what it actually is. 

So what is trust?

Firstly then, trust is an attitude we hold about others; it requires a degree of vulnerability because there’s always risk involved. If there was no risk we wouldn’t need to trust. 

When we trust someone we rely on them to be competent, as well as willing and motivated, to do whatever it is we are trusting them to do. Because trust is inherently risky we may sometimes need to monitor what they do and impose constraints; however, if we go too far with this we are not trusting, instead we are controlling, and being controlling erodes trust. 

Trustworthiness, on the other hand, is a property, a characteristic. It depends on us being reliable, capable, motivated, willing and committed. It also requires that we understand correctly what we are being trusted with, what those who trust us are hoping we will do. And it means we must be clear about what we are committing to; our decisions may not please everyone all the time, but clarity helps credibility, which is fundamental to trustworthiness.

Think about those in prominent leadership positions, both past and present, and no doubt you can come up with a list of those you consider less trustworthy. But why do we consider them less trustworthy? Are we holding them to a higher standard than they are realistically able to maintain, or is there fundamentally something highly questionable about their perceived or actual behaviour?

Let’s talk about trust

What can you do to be trustworthy and promote trust in and throughout your organisation? For a start you can question yourself and have conversations to: 

• understand what you are being trusted to do organisationally and personally – including creating the ‘right’ strategy and right culture to execute it, 
• explore and understand the factors that influence the trust between you as a leader, your staff and wider stakeholders,
• seek to understand what happens when it goes wrong and how to put it right,
• find ways to monitor and assess trust in, and within, your organisation and use this to help everyone be more trusting and more trustworthy.

These conversations have the potential to go much deeper than the usual discussions about value statements, they are about getting to the heart of trust at personal, interpersonal and organisational levels. 

When things go wrong

We’ve all had times when, even though our intentions have been good, things have gone badly wrong and we haven’t been as trusted as we would like. For most of us there’s a pattern to these situations, a recurring thing we do or don’t do, especially under stress. 

We might overcommit, or make claims we can’t back up, or not demonstrate sufficient empathy for others. Identifying what we did, or failed to do, means we can work on it and develop strategies for being more trustworthy in the future.

Frances Frei and Anne Morriss identify three ‘drivers’ that enable trust: authenticity, logic, and empathy (‘Begin with Trust’ HBR, 2020); I would add a fourth – integrity. 

Think back to a situation where you were not trusted and examine what happened. Perhaps you weren’t true to yourself and misrepresented yourself in some way, in this case authenticity is your weak spot. 

Perhaps you put your own interests first and lacked empathy. Perhaps people didn’t trust your judgment, your strategy and solution, perhaps they couldn’t see the logic, in which case why should they trust you?  Perhaps under pressure you made a commitment to something you shouldn’t have (‘There will be no job losses’, for example), in which case integrity is your challenge.

Understanding your weak spots, and admitting your mistakes when you have acted wrongly, shows people that you know and care. And importantly the humility and vulnerability you demonstrate in doing this enables everyone to move on. 

Building more trust

Clearly trust is the basis of almost everything we do in life. Trust is what holds us together, enables us to collaborate and make things better.  As leaders we must know how to build, protect and maintain it, and we must know how to repair it when things go wrong. 

Here are four things every leader can work on to build trust, and in doing so create great places to work, where people feel valued and want to give their best.

• Know your own trust ‘derailers’. Be alert to what you do under pressure that can diminish people’s trust in you and practise strategies for doing something different. 
• Be honest and admit your mistakes, demonstrate how to learn from things going wrong rather than cover them up. People will follow your lead, if you cover things up so will they, if you gloss over things so will they. Focus on the culture you want to create.
• Appreciate and acknowledge others’ efforts and achievements, this will help create psychological safety, people will feel more able and willing to share ideas, collaborate and take more responsibility.
• Stand up for what’s right even when you’re under pressure to look the other way or take an easier route. You’ll need people you trust to help you think and find your way through - your Windsor syndicate members, a mentor or coach, family or friends who know and believe in you. Having good support is critical.

So in summary, I strongly believe that leadership is not about position, it is about relationships. And relationships are built on trust. So, as you consider how you can build greater trust, perhaps you could consider these questions:

1. As a leader what am I being trusted to do organisationally and personally?
2. Why do I place trust in some people and not others?
3. What can I do to build, protect and maintain greater trust?

If you would like to explore this subject further and hear more from Ruth, our November 2024 online workshop will focus on 'When Trust in Leadership is Rocked'. Find out more here.

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