Developing a Culture of Trust

Often, when I am asked about the underlying problems in business, in national security issues or in personal endeavors, it seems that the major issue comes down to a failure of trust and the desire to pursue success instead of excellence.  You see you can cheat and be successful, you can lie and be successful, and you can implement immoral and/or unsafe business practices and be successful; but for how long?  Ultimately, pursuing success at all costs, or pursuing personal success at the cost of others will result in a failed business, a failed organization and a failed personal relationship.

Over the course of my nearly four decades as a public servant both in the uniformed military services and as a federal agent, I have witnessed a number of leaders ranging from the truly incompetent to the truly incredible.  While there are a number of characteristics that embody great leaders, I submit that the number one characteristic found in most outstanding leaders is their intrinsic desire to truly care about and learn to love those they serve.  These leaders recognize that they need to make an emotional connection with organizational members because they understand that developing positive relationships often results in producing the fruit of trust in the lives of their people and in the organization as a whole.

The reality is that many organizational leaders think of trust as a soft, sort of nice to have virtue and do not believe that trust is directly connected to their organizations bottom line.  However, according to research, trust affects two measurable outcomes – speed and cost.  Therefore, when trust goes down, speed goes down and costs go up.  Conversely, when trust goes up, speed goes up and costs go down.  The Watson Wyatt survey showed that high trust companies outperform low trust companies by nearly 300%.   Let that sink in for a moment; 300%; as an organizational leader would you be willing to allocate resources, time and energy into something that would increase your organization’s performance, manufacturing and/or profitability by 300%?  And here is the kicker, it’s not something you have to go out and physically purchase; an additional widget, building or computer software program; it is however, something that you have at your disposal right now which simply is a willingness to develop and implement a culture of trust.

The ability to engender trust to employees, stakeholders, shareholders and partners is a necessary competency for any leader who strives for excellence in their walk.  As a competency, engendering trust is something that leaders can learn and become good at IF…they are willing to lead from the heart.  That is, from my tenure as a leader in government service I have witnessed organizational cultures grow, thrive and be successful, when leaders first learn and demonstrate care and love for those they are entrusted to lead, which includes employees, partners and stakeholders.  Employees who recognize that they are valued and cared for by those that lead them, often provide superior service and value which generates pride and a sense of purpose that can be tangible.   The question for us all is simply, how…how do we develop a trust climate, how do we implement trust across the organization, where do we/I start??

Let me start with 3 principles; People, Purpose and Passion.  It has been my experience that you begin to build a foundation of trust by developing a moral position that people, just like the organization, have a purpose.  Our people not only have a purpose in the organization, but have a moral purpose in life. The best leaders recognize the importance of developing employees both professionally and personally with a great deal of passion.   This is done by a leader’s ability to develop relationships in order to make trust a goal that is communicated and matters to all levels throughout the organization.  This kind of leadership is the ability to get results that inspire trust and that trust is modeled through the leader’s character, competence and demonstrated behavior.  I am not offering up any kind of soft or “up with people” philosophy. Rather this type of leadership philosophy is bathed in accountability.

If you want to become an effective leader, if you want to make a positive difference in your team, if you want to make a positive difference in your leadership walk and if you want to develop a culture of trust in your organization…you need to first learn how to love and care for the men and women you are entrusted to serve!  This is not about everybody gets a hug…this is about a willingness to consistently make a conscious effort to truly care about others who are entrusted to you.  The bottom line in organizations isn’t about money, profit, or mission; the bottom line is people and when those people are led by leaders who care about them, who develop covenant relationships of trust, they grow, flourish and outperform other organizations and businesses in their respective markets.

James L. Capra is an author, professional speaker and the CEO and Founder of The Front Line Leadership Group.  Mr. Capra retired after nearly three decades in government service and is the former Chief of Global Operations for the US Drug Enforcement Administration.  http://www.frontlineleadershipgroup.com