Misunderstanding
As a leader, once you begin emphasizing the importance of trust, it won’t take long before someone on your team accuses you of being a hypocrite. They’ll say, “You talk about how important trust is, but then you don’t trust us….” Sometimes teammates misunderstand what we mean when we talk about trust. They think trust means, “I’m going to let you do whatever you want and not hold you accountable.” In other words, they want you to extend “blind trust.” This is a mistake. If you extend blind trust like this, then your boss/shareholders won’t trust you to be a wise steward.
Smart Trust
Instead of “blind trust”, leaders need to extend what Dr. Covey calls “Smart Trust” in his excellent book The Speed of Trust. Yes, leaders need to take smart risks and extend trust; but this needs to be coupled with the leader doing their homework to understand the situation and to thoughtfully consider the integrity, intent, capabilities, and past results of the other person.
When I Don’t Extend Trust
What are the legitimate reasons for a leader to not extend trust?
- No Information: Sometimes, the problem is simply, “I don’t have any information.” I’m willing to extend trust, but when I go to do my homework there’s nothing to research. There’s wisdom in the old saying – “Trust but verify.” I want to “trust”, but if there’s no way for me to verify I’m reluctant to take big risks.
- Homework: Sometimes, executives walk into my office and tell me they want to buy a new software program, or a new machine, or hire another person. I’m happy to do that, but they need to do their homework and make a compelling fact-based argument. I often required them to provide me something in writing (preferably in the A3 format) laying out their reasoning.
- Reports/Accountability: Sometimes, executives had a great proposal and I supported it; but I didn’t sign off on it until after they had developed some reports and had an accountability process in place. For example, while working at a trucking company we had Driver Leaders who wanted to advance money to drivers, Planners who wanted to deadhead trucks, and Executives wanting to give promotions to their employees. Rather than requiring everyone to get my permission before doing any of these things; we developed a reasonable set of guidelines and then had reports I would review after the fact on a regular basis. Unfortunately, people sometimes made decisions I disagreed with; but those became teaching opportunities that could quickly be corrected. In the meantime, we were able to increase speed and decrease costs by empowering those closest to the action to make important decisions.
- Low Trust: Sometimes, I have the information I need, and the reason I’m not extending trust is because my analysis tells me I shouldn’t. Sometimes I just don’t trust the integrity and intent of the other person. Other times, I’m working with a great person that I trust, but they’re working outside their wheelhouse – they don’t have the capabilities and/or the track record in this particular area. This is where it’s really important to demonstrate respect by being transparent and talking straight with the other person. This doesn’t have to be a negative conversation. This can actually strengthen the relationship and build trust if you can give them clear feedback and propose a way for them to improve the situation.
Default to Trust
In spite of the difficulty and risks, leaders need a propensity to extend trust. If you set the bar too high before extending trust, you are going to be imposing a “tax” on the organization and slowing everything down. We need to be comfortable with taking smart risks and extending smart trust. As Jim Burke, former CEO of Johnson & Johnson said, “I have found that by trusting people until they prove themselves unworthy of that trust, a lot more happens.”
