Organizational Trust

The difference between Trust & Psychological Safety:

Trust is interpersonal risk, expectations of another's well-being and attribution of positive intentions of the
word or actions of others. Trust focuses on the beliefs that one person has about another. Will you give others
the benefit of the doubt when you take a risk?
Psychological safety means what it means to be a member of that group. Will others give you the benefit of
the doubt when you take a risk?
You may trust your team mates to possess the competence they need in order to do their job. You may trust
them follow through on a commitment they made to you, or the rest of the team. And you trust them to act
professionally, ethically, and honestly - and in turn, this builds the group level of psychological safety.

As a leader, when you create an environment with a high degree of trust, your team is far more likely to take
risks, ask questions, admit mistakes and offer new ideas than teams with low levels of trust. This is not a
surprise because people feel more secure when they trust those around them, which allows everyone to focus
their energy on adding value to the people they are entrusted to serve instead of continually assessing where
they stand with others. In today’s team-driven business world, building a culture based on trust is one of the
most critical responsibilities facing leaders in all types of organizations. You can have the best strategy, vision,
plans, values, or purpose in the world, but if people do not trust each other, nothing great can happen, and
your organization will be average at best.

There are two basic types of trust: cognitive trust & affective trust. Cognitive trust is based on the
confidence you feel in another person's accomplishments, skills, and reliability. This is trust from head. Is a
person's confidence or willingness to rely on a business' perceived competence and reliability. It arises from
an accumulated knowledge allowing one to make confident predictions regarding the likelihood the other
party will live up to their obligations. Cognitive trust has two main core: 1) Capability: I believe you have
the appropriate knowledge and skills, and your competence and ability to make me trust you. 2) Consistency:
I believe you will act in a predictable and reliable manner, which minimizes surprises.

Affective trust on the other hand, arises from feelings of emotional closeness, empathy or friendship. This
type of trust comes from heart. Also is the confidence one places in a partner or party on the basis of feelings
generated by the level of care and concern they demonstrate. It is characterized by feelings of security and
perceived strength of the relationship. At its core, it means you trust them because you like them. Affective
trust has two main cores: 1) Caring: I believe you are on my side, because you display empathy, warmth, and
caring about my wants and needs. 2) Candor: I believe you will act with honesty and integrity, follow through
on your promises, and not deceive me.

The four aspects of trust critical to a high-performance team:

1. Truthfulness. How much do you trust the people with whom you work to tell you the whole,
unvarnished truth? In reality, there are few, in any, people in our lives who tell us the whole truth.
Your spouse might hold back so as not to hurt your feelings. Others might be afraid of making you
angry or getting on your wrong side. On the other end of the continuum are those people who seem to
never tell you the truth. All of their interactions cause you to be suspect; as if they are trying to sell
you a used car. Trust goes up in cultures where people tell the truth, even when it is difficult.

2. Fairness. Do people on your team have your back? Even if people are speaking truth, if your
teammates are only looking out for their self-interest, you aren’t going to have a high degree of trust
in them. Some people are wired to create win/lose relationships. They are clearly out for themselves
and will do whatever is necessary to get ahead. Others are wired to create lose/win relationships. They
are so focused on the success of others that they overlook their needs. I have found that the most
 trusting relationships are built by people who can blend their interest with the interest of their
teammates; thus creating true win/win relationships.

3. Competence. Can the people on your team do what they say they can do? One of the most important
functions of great leadership is to staff the team with “A” players. When you don’t trust the people on
your team to be able to execute on their assignments, you will spend too much of your team
backstopping them. Trust erodes when you have to check the work of your teammates because you
don’t trust they have the competence to do the job right.

4. Reliability. Do the people on your team do what they say they will do? People commit to doing all
kinds of things. You may do that as well. Check your “to do” list. How many items on that list have
been sitting in that file for weeks? Months? Years? Many of these tasks may have been commitments
you made to someone on your team. Doesn’t your lack of follow-though undermine their trust in you?
We don’t always realize that making agreements is giving our word. When our word isn’t reliable,
trust diminishes.

Five Faces of Trust

1. Benevolence. The belief that the other party will act with positive intentions within an exchange.
2. Reliability. Means knowing what your values and priorities are, communicating them to your team,
and then doing what you say you are going to do-even if the task is difficult.
3. Competence. The trust we have in others to do what they say they can do.
4. Honesty. Is the foundation for trust in a relationship, and trust is necessary for relationship to function
and thrive. When you are always honest with someone, it tells them that they can trust you and the
things you say. It helps them know they can believe your promises and commitments.
5. Openness. When trust exists between individuals it allows them to take risks and be open with each
other.

The Levels of Trust

1. Shared Values
 To build a foundation of trust, this is the place you must trust.
 Values are deeply held beliefs that certain broad modes of behavior (honest, kindness or
loyalty) or end states (love, quality or peace).
 Trust occurs when people know they share values. The biggest cause of division occurs when
people believe they do not. Mergers and acquisitions fail because the values of the company
cultures are incompatible.

2. Integrity
 This level is about who are you, your character. Are you honest and ethical?
 Ethics are rarely clear cut and at some point, we know right from wrong.

3. Concern for Others

 People need to believe you are genuinely concerned for their well-being, not just for your own
personal gain.

4. Competent
 People need to believe you know what you are doing and are capable of doing it. If you are
agree to take on a responsibility, that you are capable of doing it. If you are in a leadership role,
do you understand the role of leadership and are you capable of leading your team forward
success?
 5. Accountable
 Can people depend on you? Are you reliable?

The Importance of Trust

- Good for morale and motivation.
- Builds teamwork and collaboration.
- Improve efficiency and decreases costs.
- Empowers ethical decision making.
- Increase loyalty and the willingness to stay with company.
- Decreases stress levels and hostility in the work environment.
- Overcomes resistance to change.
- Breakdowns corporate silos and isolating behaviors.
- It is a gateway to persuasion, sharing developing ideas.
- Trust is the key ingredient to coaching and improving employee performance.
- Provides a sense of safety. When your team feel safe with each other, they feel comfortable to open,
take appropriate risks, and expose vulnerabilities.

Returns of Low Trust

- On Employees:
o Hesitate to take risks, assume responsibility, and share information.
o Be less motivated to do their best work.
o Feel frustrated and disgruntled.
o Spread rumors.
o Be less able to collaborate and innovate.
o Be more likely to feel stress.
o Be less productive.

- On Organizations:
o Have less credibility and a poorer reputation.
o Waste valuable resources on unnecessary bureaucracy and redundancy.
o Have higher turnover and less productive employees.
o Have higher costs and less profitability.
o Have less of competitive edge.
o Experience higher levels of theft and fraud.