Trust at all levels is vital for any workplace or organisation to function as well as it possibly can. However, it isn’t an easy thing to achieve: it can take years to build up trust, and only a single mistake to break it. And similarly, people or departments that have worked the same way for a long period of time can be resistant to change or new ideas.
The best way to build up trust over time is through patience, positivity and flexibility. Trust should be gradually encouraged and built upon, so that everyone comes to enjoy the benefits of trusting, and being trusted by, everyone around them. And as this blog explains, when this approach needs external help, coaching is undoubtedly the way forward.
Why trust is a two-way street
Trust doesn’t recognise seniority within a business, how long different employees have worked there, or the finer details of a corporate organogram. It’s just as valuable and important to new hires and those working at lower levels as it is in the boardroom and to the CEO themselves.
And that’s why trust has to work both ways in order to be successful. If you can’t trust the people that you work with, then why should you expect them to trust you in return?
A good example of how this works in practice is when changes and improvements are being implemented. If an employee has a problem, then they should feel confident enough to raise it with their line manager, and trust that the manager will treat the issue fairly and professionally. But equally, the line manager has to trust the employee to give them time to make changes, because issues requiring such formal action are rarely resolved overnight.
Of course, making this happen internally isn’t easy. Asking people to break out of preconceptions and ingrained relationships to build a culture of trust, and to do so themselves without any support, is naturally a very difficult thing for anyone to do. This is where external help comes into play.
The power of coaching
Using a third party to assess the levels of trust within an organisation, and to provide coaching in the areas that need the most attention, can be instrumental in improving trust organisation-wide. Many employers recognise the importance of this, and yet remain resistant to it: according to LHH research, 69% of managers say coaching and mentoring on leadership skills is important, but only 23% have received or are receiving it.
Coaching allows everyone within a business to get a more objective view of trust, as well as the feelings, aspirations, strengths and weaknesses of everyone within the organisation. It can help all parties understand how to build stronger relationships between each other, and take the views of other people into account, rather than just their own. With everyone pulling in the same direction, and going through the same exercises and experiences, it becomes far easier to cultivate a culture of trust that everyone feels they can buy into.
Journey of trust
For coaching to be most effective, it’s vital to begin by working out where the coaching should begin. In our extensive experience of trust coaching, quantifying trust levels through our Leadership Trust Index offers a solid foundation upon which coaching programmes can be targeted and refined.
All the coaching support we provide is based around our tried-and-tested ‘Nine Habits of Trust’ model. This divides the concept of workplace trust into nine specific pillars, each of which can be addressed through focused support:
- Ability: delivery, coaching, consistency
- Integrity: honesty, openness, humility
- Benevolence: evangelising, bravery, kindness
We use the power of executive coaching with these Nine Habits in mind, so that we can identify and reinforce positive behaviours that allow trust to be built throughout the workforce. But these teachings don’t have to remain restricted to the C-suite: if required, they can be expanded further into wider change initiatives, or passed on through internal champions that can facilitate coaching at a more granular level within departments.
At a time when talent retention and acquisition has never been more challenging, the importance of strong trust at all levels of an organisation cannot be understated. Coaching has a vital part to play in enabling that, and breaking down the subjective barriers that can easily prevent progress being made internally.
Learn more about the Nine Habits of Trust, the Leadership Trust Index, and the value of coaching for developing better workplace trust in our free guide.
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Dr John Blakey is the author of ‘The Trusted Executive’ (book) and Founder of The Trusted Executive. Read John Blakey’s Forbes executive profile.
[Photo by Riccardo Annandale on Unsplash.]
