Trust is foundational to fruitful relationships, and relationships are foundational to success.
None of us can achieve anything without help.
Who we perceive as helpful determines who we trust, one of the intuitive rules of the "tribe" is help the tribe - if you don't help the tribe you're not to be trusted, and you probably belong to a different tribe with a different purpose.
Think about that if you're trying to overcome siloed behaviors or disengagement.
When we are trusted, seen, heard and valued, we will be more engaged, motivated, and committed to those that grant us trust.
In this blog post, we explore the concept of operationalizing trust and its role as the currency funding organizational success. Operationalizing trust means taking trust from being just a concept or value and making it a tangible and actionable part of the organization's culture and operations. It involves creating an environment where trust is embedded in business interactions and practices.
My first question is this: if you don't have engagement, reflect on what you are doing to be helpful, give trust, create belonging and help others grow and learn. If you aren't, then poor engagement is a symptom of how you behave to support others, not the other way around.
Here are some examples and tips on how to operationalize trust in your organization: 1. Be selflessly helpful:
Individuals who want to "earn trust" are maybe a little selfish. Their motives are linked to "if I do this, I expect that in return".
There is a subtle but powerful difference between granting trust and expecting nothing in return, and earning trust to get you to do something on my terms. Instead, ask "how can I help you?". Now you both have something at risk, trust is required if something is at risk.
For you: What will they ask for, I've placed myself in a vulnerable position.
For them: You may use the information to harm me socially, or simply not help.
In our experience, most people ask for what they need to do their job better or for help in solving a problem. The social risk for you is therefore low, but if you help them on purpose to deliver their purpose, your relationship just changed. You're a step closer to shared purpose, but you're not yet "one of us".
2. Take care of the truth:
Being helpful isn't a one stop shop.
You need to go out of your way a few times before you gain a reputation of being helpful. Be aware: they are talking about you behind your back, sharing stories about who to trust with what. Group bonds are powerful, they share stories that protect their group from harm.
Each time you pass the help test, you decrease the social risk others have in sharing information with you. The bank of trust is filled with small deposits, so as you receive increasingly "risky" information you need to increase your effort to take care of the truth and use your power and influence to do what is right in the eyes of others, protect the source and bring them a benefit, or they will empty the bank, and you're bust! 3. Collaboration and Teamwork:
Looking after the interests of another, especially those of another "group" in the "wider tribe" generates brain chemicals that nature designed to strengthen relationships. Being helped and being helpful makes both parties feel good, and want to feel that again.
Create opportunities for collaboration and teamwork. Encourage cross-department problem solving, respect the truth and the diverse perspectives, make the changes that benefit the collective and connect group contributions to shared purpose and the company values.
We increase belonging the more we co-create mutual benefit to shared purpose.
Note: We don't solve problems, problems solve us. Helpful relationships mean the relationships get stronger as we work from common ground and what makes us the same. We will seek out trusted perspectives, meaning inclusion drives diversity more than diversity drives inclusion.
Now we're getting closer. 4. Recognition and Appreciation:
Be specific about what you recognize and appreciate, and why. Targeted feedback on how contributions align with values, purpose, mission and the future you desire for the organization creates belonging and connection to those very things.
Do it socially and others will see fairness in the act as well as what behaviors are desirable. To belong to the tribe, this is what I have to do, social wellbeing is a powerful motivator.
Here is what trust and empowerment means if something goes wrong: If you are powerful and you grant someone trust, empower them to complete a "task" in your name; then you must retain accountability. You gave your power to someone else to make a decision, and if a mistake happens, then you provided a learning opportunity. Ask questions that are constructive and help learning, ask how we can be stronger next time, and what help or support we need to get even stronger.
Now we belong, we've got each others backs, we're on the same team, justice is social and cultural, don't make it a procedure. 5. Learning and Growth.
If you've passed the tests: being helpful, guarding the truth, recognizing what makes us strong and being helpful when things go wrong, now we're ready for the final step in trust.
Admitting that you've got stuff to learn or don't know in the absence of trust is a social risk. For every employee regardless of rank.
Being granted trust to do a job bigger than you, knowing that someone has your back leads to open constructive and supportive conversations. You can take measured risks knowing that you'll be pushed, but you know you'll be supported, guided and helped if needed.
We all join organizations and hope we will be see, valued and provided with an opportunity to better ourselves to add even more value to the tribe we joined.
Trust that you can make mistakes, be open to learning and growth and talk openly about problems and challenges are where we find creativity and innovation.
Companies don't learn and grow, people do. High trust organizations adapt, learn and grow faster than the competition. At OrgTree.Me, we've founded our purpose in helping organizations operationalize trust and integrate it with your normal day to day work, co-creating a positive and inclusive work culture. We help co-create the business practices and services that are helpful and coach the skills necessary to grow trust. We embed how to build momentum around trust, and how to recognize and indeed measure how it increases along with your organization's resilience and adaptation. Truly unique cultural metrics that show you how to focus on creating more value from relationships and business practices, all the while knowing that performance improvement becomes a by-product of fruitful relationships.
Our unique approach to culture change focuses on revealing the roots of an organization's culture, de-conflicting silos, and empowering the entire organization to deliver shared purpose. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help your organization empower employees for success.
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