CHAPTER 4 Build a Culture of Trust

If my people understand me, I'll get their attention. If my people trust me, I'll get their action.

—CAVETT ROBERT, MOTIVATIONAL SPEAKER

If you've ever worked with liars, you understand how quickly their deception can destroy relationships, dampen morale, and poison the culture of an organization. One such incident comes quickly to mind.

Devin (his name changed to protect the guilty) announced that the roof of the building had been damaged during a windstorm. As operations manager, he needed to have it repaired. But preoccupied with other things and seeing no immediate problem with leaks, he postposed filing an insurance claim or calling a repair company to investigate the situation. Weeks turned into months.

When the next windstorm hit, Devin's CEO asked him about the previous repairs. Caught off guard, Devin responded in his typical manner—with a lie: "Oh, that. Yeah, sure. The crew has already been out here and repaired most of it. I scheduled it back during the holidays when most employees were off—for minimal disruption. Just took them a few days to get it done."

"Good."

"They just need one more day for replacing a few gutters to have it all finished. I'm going to try to schedule them out here again in the next week or two to get those last gutters up."

"Great." His boss walked away, satisfied that all was well with the roof.

Later that day, through another series of events, the boss discovered that Devin had scheduled no roof repairs at all. When he confronted Devin with the truth, Devin admitted that he'd simply forgotten about the roof damage. He explained his plan to take care of the repairs the following weekend.

To Devin, no harm done. Repairs made. No rain in the forecast. No problem.

To his boss, big harm done. Trust lost.

Strong communicators trade on trust. It's their currency. When trust has been developed and tested over time, the relationship remains rock-solid. When your coworkers, customers, and family trust you, they listen to your input, support your work, and remain loyal in difficult times.

Without trust, a relationship goes bankrupt. The distrusted communicator's words carry no more weight than currency from an overthrown government or stock from a bankrupt corporation.

So how do you build a culture of trust in your organization and in your own relationships?

BUILDING TRUST IN YOUR ORGANIZATION AND RELATIONSHIPS

•Tell the truth. Avoid deception in all its forms.

•Give your reasons for the actions you take and the decisions you make. Be transparent.

•Make your actions match your words. Be sure what you say in public matches what you do in private.

•Demonstrate competence. No matter how much we like somebody, we trust those people who have a track record of performance—whether it's developing software, designing business processes, or driving forklifts.

•Show humility. Be approachable, not arrogant and aloof. Be friendly and likeable, not a know-it-all who must have the last word on every topic in every discussion.

•Demonstrate confidence. If you don't believe in yourself, why should others?

•Have a positive outlook. For the most part, people want to trust those who are upbeat rather than negative. People need hope in the future.

•Trust others. If you distrust others, most often they return the "favor."

Without a foundation of trust, you have no platform for authentic communication.