Question for you to think about: If I were to ask the persons who work for you or report to you, do you think you would be on their list of persons that they trust?
A Harvard Business Review survey reveals that 58% of people say that they trust strangers more than their own boss. This is not a good statistic. Trust isn't just a "nice-to-have" workplace perk – it is the foundation of leadership. If your people don't trust you, they won't follow you.
The Reality of Trust:
- Performance: The consensus is usually that if people trust their leaders and co-workers, the working environment would be more positive, and people would be more productive.
- Retention: People don't quit companies; they quit people.
- Character: Teams will forgive a mistake in ability, but they rarely recover from a slip in character. And the greatest cause of turnover in organizations is the lack of trust.
You create "accounts" of trustworthiness like bank accounts with every interaction with others. Every interaction with another person makes "deposits" in that person's account or makes a withdrawal.
Ask yourself the question: Are you creating deposits of trust and building your balance, or are you making withdrawals and are overdrawn?