Trust and Respect in an Organization
If an
organization is lacking trust and respect then leadership, group initiative and
creativity suffer. A manager has to provide an environment to develop this
through straight talk, listening and making commitments.
The Howard
Jackson Model for systematically building trust and respect is a repeatable
series of steps that build on from each other in sequence to establish better
collaboration.
At the
bottom of the pyramid one starts with Straight Talk, and move through the steps
of Listening for Understanding, Making Commitments, being Reliable, creating
Trust, and then finally earning Respect.
Straight Talk
Open and
direct communication is the first building block for trust and respect.
Straight-talk
is the product of thoughtful caring relationships built upon trust by people
committed to looking out for one another’s success. It entails much more than
let-the-chips-fall-where-they-may candor and blunt start-to-finish honesty.
And, it’s not brought about by cat-and-mouse, testing-the-waters conversation
that evolves into a tell-it-straight, see if you can get the other person to
reciprocate discussion. Straight-talk is a caring, other-sensitive,
candor-on-demand, loyalty-producing, intimacy-escalating, give-and-take
relationship leading to enhanced personal and organizational productivity.
Listening for Understanding
Focus your
attention on understanding the meaning behind what people are saying. There is
a big difference between waiting for your turn to speak and really listening.
Hear, Understand, Interpret, and then Respond.
Organizational Commitment
The concept
of organizational commitment refers to a person's affective reactions to
characteristics
of his employing organization. It is concerned with feelings of attachment to
the goals
and values of the organization, one's role in relation to this, and attachment
to the
organization
for its own sake rather than for its strictly instrumental value. As a positive
outcome of
the quality of work experience, the concept can be regarded as a factor
contributing to subjective well-being at work.
Be clear
about what you will do. Agree on the What, By When, By Whom, and How steps.
Communicate your intentions and stick to them.
Reliability
Do what you
say you will do without fail. If circumstances have changed and it no longer
makes sense to do what you said you would do, communicate back and explain why,
and discuss and agree on the new steps.
Follow through over-and-over, be reliable, unfailing, dependable.
Trust
Trust as a
common word in ordinary language retains much of that meaning when
employed as
a concept in social science. It refers to the extent to which one is
willing to
ascribe good intentions to and have confidence in the words and actions of
other
people. This
willingness will in turn atffect the way in which one behaves towards others.
Trust
between individuals and groups within an organization is a highly important
ingredient in the long-term stability of the organization and the well-being of
its members.
Trust
results from the firm belief that another person can be relied upon. Trust is
the result of straight talk, making sure you understand and are understood, and
keeping confidences as well as commitments.
Respect
Although
there are many levels of respect, the respect that follows trust leads to deep
esteem for another person. We value their thoughts and input, and we know we
can count on them because they have proven themselves out to us.
"Managing
with Respect" is the way people put the company values into action.
It is
creating an environment where people feel free to offer suggestions, contribute
ideas and make contributions to the organization.
"Managing
with Respect" creates an environment where people genuinely care about
each other and work well together to reach their full potential.
The
"Managing with Respect" principles are:
- Communicate
Effectively
- Give and
Seek Feedback
- Value
Unique Contributions
- Promote
Teamwork
- Set the
Example
Establishing trust and respect can build tremendous support for goals, and likewise losing trust and respect puts us back at the beginning and the process has to start again.
Christiaan Janssens
Executive Coach
CRO @ Spa Akwa Belgium
