Trust is a big issue these days.
"This is a high-scrutiny, low-trust environment," says licensed psychologist Susan Battley, CEO of Battley Performance Consulting L.L.C., in East Setauket, N.Y. "You'll have to work that much harder when there isn't trust to create it and maintain it."
This column will tell you how to gain trust. It will also tell you what you might have to do if you are trustworthy but not being trusted.
Battley helps professionals increase their effectiveness while communicating with consistency, credibility, clarity and honesty. She maintains that workplace trust applies to people at all levels, and that it's unstable now because of worry and increased competition. It's particularly important in teamwork.
"Research shows that when this contract is weak or broken," 0she states, "rebuilding it can take significantly more effort than establishing trust in the first place."
You probably have the trust of others if they count on you and don't think you're attempting to undermine them, she continues. They know you won't compromise that. But when the environment isn't trusting, building trust will require intensive effort.
Battley points out that an apology, even if you do something inadvertently, can be particularly powerful and helpful by diminishing co-worker resentment.
Management trainer Sean O'Neil, co-principal at One to One Leadership L.L.C., in Pelham, N.Y., observes that sales teams often have all of the resources at hand to build trust but squander it by "hoarding valuable bits of information ... to maintain a competitive advantage over their peers. This creates a competitive tension, even when employees are supposed to be playing together on the same team.
"Employees who openly share signal to their peers that they are willing to play together," he adds. "This often encourages reciprocal sharing which creates a happier, more efficient and more trusting work environment."
For example, he outlines a number of resources he's watched a sales team share while building trust and group success:
Gary Cohen, managing partner and executive coach at CO2 Partners, L.L.C., in Minneapolis, comments that "trust ... is given by those who put themselves at risk for someone else."
Giving up resources puts you at risk when you might conceivably use them again.
If you're a trustworthy person, but someone doesn't trust you, Cohen suggests that a coach can be helpful. However, if working with one isn't possible, you still have some options.
Battley, the psychologist, indicates that you can increase the likelihood of surviving in your workplace if you "ally yourself with someone who is trusted, such as a colleague or manager."
Another possibility is to request a transfer, although, she concedes, the company grapevine might still transmit tales.
Battley also suggests that you perform at the highest level to lengthen your time on the job. By this she means that you do your work as very best you can and treat everyone politely and respectfully.
She cautions you to "avoid the temptation to withdraw or retaliate, such as taking all of your vacation time or calling in sick when you're not, as these actions may well hasten your exit."
But it's also important to know when there is no hope whatsoever and that it's time to move on. She mentions these signs:
Mildred L. Culp welcomes your questions at culp@workwise.net.
Copyright 2009 Passage Media.)
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