Trust Is More Important Than Ever: Here’s Why

Today’s work environments are challenged by high competition, high sensitivity, high tension and low tolerance. Employees are often slow to share and connect and quick to sue and complain. They document each other’s wrongs instead of dialoguing about how they can work better together.

For companies to thrive and innovate in the current climate, teams need to engage in productive conflict, debate about ideas and have fun working together. Organizations that cultivate strong, trusting relationships find the most success.

When people feel safe to share with each other, they’re more likely to be open, cooperate, collaborate, debate ideas, listen with empathy and curiosity, communicate freely and support each other. They’ll check in with each other rather than go around each other. Leaders who aspire to create trust empower teams to get their tasks done with a focus on quality and efficiency.

The Leadership Answer Is To Prioritize Positive Relationships: Here’s How

Organizations are filled with people who have great intentions, top talent and a strong work ethic—but who still end up in situations where there is criticism, blame, complaining, avoiding and withholding.

In a highly polarized social and political landscape, conversations are strained and people neglect to share information and collaborate meaningfully to produce great results.

Well-meaning managers naturally try to remove any team tensions to focus on productivity. They tend to see conflict as time-consuming and a distraction from conducting business. The responsibility of resolving conflict, however, needs to be shared as opposed to relegated to internal human resources or external consultants. Fostering aligned relationships leads to the very results leaders are seeking. When positive interactions are prioritized, people create better products and services. When leaders prioritize harmonious relationships, connected interactions and open communication, the trust among and across teams is increased and goals are easier to achieve.

There are actionable steps that leaders can take to cultivate trust. Teams that have “alignment conversations” before, during and after the lifetime of a project permit themselves to clarify intentions and expectations. By discussing their goals, their roles and the ways they’ll ask for support and measure success, they prioritize positive interactions and productive outcomes. When teams regularly and frequently meet to acknowledge wins—”What’s working?” and name gaps—”How do we improve?” they enhance both their relationships and results.

Teams that consistently conduct “relationship audits” ensure that trust is a strong part of their culture. With the additional guidance of an executive coach, team members take stock of “deposits” and “withdrawals” from their “bank account of trust” to carefully assess situations, review progress, make better decisions and evaluate their communication, management and leadership styles.

Build For Future Success: Reframe Trust From Soft Skill To Strategic Strength

A strong organizational culture is built on trusting relationships. When leaders prioritize trust as part of their strategy, they ensure that people listen to, respect and value what their team members have to offer. They can disagree and push back on each other’s ideas to get to solutions and ideas that test their original thinking. When trust-building is reframed as a strategic strength, it becomes an integral part of how teams run their meetings and how they ask for input and help, and it sets the tone for everything from email exchanges to project management.

Trust is not a one-time, single characteristic to discuss solely at an annual retreat or list in the company’s core values. It must be cultivated daily and brought into the planning process. Teams build trust by sharing intentions, clarifying roles and goals, aligning on expectations, offering support, acknowledging effort, discussing improvements and celebrating successes.

Through these strategic alignment and feedback conversations, which are anything but soft, teams will elevate their performance and exceed their goals. Cultivating a culture of trustworthiness where people feel they can count on each other to deliver on what they promise, be reliable and keep their commitments, and where they can allow each other to be vulnerable and authentic, will go a long way toward ensuring that people feel safe and supported to share their time and talent.