One of the ways that successful companies thrive is through Leadership and Trust. Trust increases speed and lowers costs in business.
"No matter how effective your strategy, your vision, or your communication, you will fail to achieve the desired results for your organization if you cannot inspire trust as a leader." Bill George, Former CEO Medtronic, and Harvard Professor
George's sentiments have been backed by research, consultants, and neuroscientists. Gallup's research identified that the chances of employees being engaged when they don't trust their leaders is one in twelve, versus one in two when they do trust their leaders. Amy Lyman, the co-founder of the Great Place to Work® Institute, said that "companies whose employees praise the high levels of trust in their workplace are, in fact, among the highest performers, beating the average annualized returns of the S&P 500 by a factor of three."
Relationships survive on trust. When trust is present people step up, do their best work, think innovatively, and communicate openly and transparently. When trust is not present people play it safe, gossip, and hold information. Trust provides a sense of safety that promotes open communication, initiative, and risk-taking.
Paul Zak, a neuroscientist and author of Trust Factor: The Science of Creating High-Performance Companies, discovered neurologic mechanisms that enable cooperation and trust. Zak compared the employees of high-trust companies with employees of low-trust companies. He found that the employees of high-trust companies are 50 percent more productive, have 106 percent more energy, and are 76 percent more engaged at work. Additionally, those working in high-trust companies experience 60 percent more joy at work, align with their companies' purpose 70 percent more, and feel 66 percent closer to their colleagues.
Furthermore, employees at high-trust companies earn 17 percent more than employees at low-trust companies. In a competitive market, high-trust companies will only pay more for labor if their employees are more productive than those working in low-trust companies. As Zak observes, this is powerful evidence that trust directly improves profits thus increasing speed and lowering costs.
Such compelling statistics for something that seems so intangible...Trust!
Do you know how you are building or diminishing trust in your workplace?
INVITATION: Trust can be measured and thus be managed. In case you are not aware, you can have your team take the Flexibility and Trust Survey. As certified associates, we can facilitate you and your team to take the Flexibility and Trust Survey to provide feedback on interpersonal and trust-building ability. Please contact us below.
All the Best,
Lori Heffelfinger, MSOD, PCC
lori@heffelfingerco.com
310-543-7632
