The Trust Equation – Are You Missing a Variable?

Without trust, what do you have?

 Well, you have less innovation, collaboration, creativity, productivity, employee engagement, … you have more burnout, dysfunction, conflict, employee turnover, and silence around the table.

So, how do you make sure you are building trust? On some level, trust is a gut reaction. Right?

Enter the trust equation (c/o Steven Drozdeck and Lyn Fisher):

Credibility + Reliability + Authenticity

       Perception of Self Interest

Credibility?

Do you have the expertise, experience, and knowledge to do the job or task? Do you have thoughtful insights or use terminology that makes your team think – oh he or she totally knows what they are talking about.

Do you exercise good judgement? Make smart decisions. Are you transparent, sharing with you team why you made certain decisions?

As a founder, you won’t know how to do everything. That’s ok. Be open with what you know and don’t know. Check your ego at the door.

Project confidence, not arrogance. Show that you are open to learning, for example, hire a coach or ask for feedback and act on it.

As you scale, you will ask team members to step into new roles or take on leadership positions. Help those being asked to take on management roles develop leadership skills, so they have the trust of their team.

Reliability

Do you do what you say you are going to do? Do you deliver (on time!).

Are you consistent in your behavior, responsiveness and in the quality of your work? Can people depend on you to get it done, and get it done well? Do you hold yourself accountable and is there a culture of accountability?

A sense of pride and ownership in one’s work? Expectations are clear?

When you are scaling a business, running full steam ahead, nobody has time to check your work. To pick up the slack because everyone is taking on more and more.

In these high-growth settings, being reliable also means knowing when to say “no” or when to ask for help. Setting boundaries supports your sanity, and your reliability factor.

Authenticity

It’s a sense of connection. We trust people we think we know.

How easy is it to get to know you? Do you talk to your team about what excites you about the work or what worries you? Does your team know what matters most to you? Or, your favorite thing to do outside the office? Do you act and react consistent with your values?

Do you communicate regularly with your board, for example, sharing what in on your mind and what your priorities are and where you see potential risks?  

Perception of Self-Interest

Read “perception”. You may not be thinking it’s all about you, but how do others read your actions or hear your words. Are you all about the “we” “us” and “our” team?

As a founder be careful with this one! It’s your idea, your baby, your story….so it’s you who gets all the credit, whose name is in the headlines. Remember to give credit to the hard work of your team, to celebrate wins with them, and to share opportunities to stand in the spotlight.

As your team grows, it’s more likely people start positioning themselves for promotions, more money, access to you, to work on important projects. Hello, office politics.

Of all the variables, take an extra beat with this one. Take a math moment. It’s the single denominator. If it increases even a little, it brings down the impact of the other variables (credibility, reliability, and authenticity) on your trustworthiness with one fell swoop.