\n\tDo you trust your immediate supervisor or manager to do what is right? What about your CEO?<\/p>\n
\n\tBefore you answer those questions, let\u2019s understand what trust really is. Trust in a person means you have a firm belief in his or her reliability, truth, ability, or strength. Trusting also means you have confidence in a person and you feel physically and emotionally safe with him or her. And there is also one other fact about trust: It takes time to build trust between people but only a few seconds to lose it.<\/p>\n
\n\tAccording to the 2019 Edelman Trust Barometer, a global survey on trust in leaders, institutions, government, and the media, only 47 percent of employees rate their CEO as a credible source of information. While this percentage may seem low, it is 2 points higher than it was last year. This recent assessment meshes with the Willis Towers Watson 2017 Global Workforce Study that found only 49 percent of U.S. employees had trust and confidence in the job being done by their organization\u2019s top leaders.<\/p>\n
\n\tHow do your organization\u2019s senior leaders stack up against these findings?<\/p>\n
\n\tLet\u2019s examine different things Learning and Development (L&D) leaders can do to raise the bar on trust in leadership.<\/p>\n
\n\tWORTHY OF YOUR TRUST<\/strong><\/p>\n \n\tLeaders must show consistency with integrity and ethical actions. These are beginning steps to creating the trust employees expect, besides appearing to be a positive example. Leadership coach Janine Schindler notes, \u201cConsistently doing what\u2019s right, even when it\u2019s difficult, should be an integral part of a leader\u2019s makeup.\u201d Are these topic areas included in your leadership development curriculum? If not, plan to work them in.<\/p>\n \n\tResponders to the Edelman survey suggested three areas CEOs need to focus on first:<\/p>\n \n\tConsider having your CEO and senior leaders teach the organization\u2019s vision, mission, and values in your onboarding sessions. Have them also teach or be guest participants or panelists in your leadership development programs. Get them to share their mistakes and their successes in being congruent with their own and organizational values. It\u2019s your leaders who set the tone and example for experiencing trust in the company. Consider that more than three-quarters of surveyed employees (78 percent) agree that the way a company treats its employees is one of the best indicators of its level of trustworthiness.<\/p>\n \n\tPerhaps the harsh assessment of trust levels with CEOs comes from the disparate roles and different levels of status and power between employees and leaders. Employees are more at risk on the vulnerability scale, and so trust is a big deal. As American scholar and leadership professor Warren Bennis wisely said, \u201cLeadership without mutual trust is a contradiction in terms.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tSIGNS OF TRUST IN THE WORKPLACE<\/strong><\/p>\n \n\tTrust helps cement the employer-employee partnership, and leaders are the catalysts for making this happen. What signs of trust are apparent where you work?<\/p>\n \n\tDigging deeper into the 2019 Edelman Trust Barometer survey, you\u2019ll find clear signs of what employees expect from managers and leaders alike. For example, is there a commitment to diversity at all levels within the organization? This should lead to greater inclusivity in the makeup of employees, work teams, and leaders.<\/p>\n \n\tManagement practices reflect their leaders or at least the perception they have. Think about how managers do with telling the truth. If they do well, is this because leaders are living the organizational values? Managers who openly communicate and regularly convey information to employees on the organizational direction and current state of the company often receive good communication from above. Trustworthy organizations have managers and leaders who make time and are open to employee input and feedback.<\/p>\n \n\tIn an area close to my heart, you will find ethical and trustworthy companies refuse to reward people who achieve high performance levels but don\u2019t care how they get the results. You should not promote people who do not uphold the organizational values either. Unless they will change their behaviors, dismiss these individuals from employment with the organization.<\/p>\n \n\tWhere there is high trust, you\u2019ll find leaders who are open and transparent. A by-product of these qualities is employee participation and involvement, even in areas such as strategy development and business planning. As CEOs embody the organizational values, employees at all levels will emulate their leaders and follow them.<\/p>\n \n\tBUILDING TRUST ON SIMPLE STEPS<\/strong><\/p>\n \n\tWhen working with or coaching your leaders, help them build trust by developing strong character and displaying consistency in positive actions. Then they will gain the credibility for what they stand for as a trustworthy leader.<\/p>\n \n\t1. Character<\/strong> in leaders is when they live harmoniously with the qualities and values representative of a trustworthy leader. This means they are true to themselves and the people they serve. Have them take part in 360-degree feedback to determine their character standing.<\/p>\n \n\t2. Consistency<\/strong> is the steadfast adherence to good principles, personal and organizational values, and positive behaviors and actions. Consistent leaders are the same in the boardroom, on the stage, or with employees in the cafeteria and hallway. Explore senior leader engagement survey responses to learn employee perceptions.<\/p>\n \n\t3. Credibility<\/strong> in a leader is built upon strong character and consistency with doing what they say they will do, accepting responsibility for human mistakes made, a willingness to apologize and then make things right. Invite your senior leadership team to provide candid feedback to one another on their credibility level.<\/p>\n \n\tDeveloping trustworthy leaders creates strong employee engagement and produces healthy profitability. Plan to help your leaders earn people\u2019s trust every single day.<\/p>\n \n\tRoy Saunderson, MA, CRP, is author of \u201cGIVING the Real Recognition Way\u201d and Chief Learning Officer at Rideau Recognition Solutions. His consulting and learning skills focus on helping companies \u201cgive real recognition the right way wherever they are.\u201d For recognition insights, visit:\u00a0http:\/\/AuthenticRecognition.com<\/a>. For more information, e-mail him at RoySaunderson@Rideau.com<\/a> or visit www.Rideau.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \n\tUnderstanding how to facilitate successful results between groups of people.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":34,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"cybocfi_hide_featured_image":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[25],"class_list":{"0":"post-11313","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-magazine","7":"tag-talent-tips","8":"magazine_issues-may-2019"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n