We have a problem with trust in organizations today. Nothing earth shattering about that statement. I personally believe it’s closely connected (unfortunately) to a much larger issue of trust in today’s world. I can’t blame anyone for feeling this widespread lack of trust. Our trust has been broken too many times in recent years, often by tragic events. This leaves us feeling vulnerable and signals our fight-or-flight response to protect ourselves and those we love the most. Unfortunately, this defensiveness comes at the expense of not developing constructive relationships with those we aren’t as close with.
One Solution
There are several strategies to building trust within an organization. I’d like to share just one here in this blog post. Having worked in some facet of organizational development for more than 15 years, I’ve had the distinct pleasure of working with companies of all different sizes, industries and global footprints. And I can say that all of them (and they would agree) could benefit from making one thing a priority:
Fostering the willingness and ability amongst employees to have honest conversations with each other.
Honest conversations. They’re not easy. If they were, we wouldn’t have so many performance issues, miscommunication, ambiguous expectations and unclear definitions of success. As a consultant, I’ve seen this play out in a different light than when I was working inside organizations. I’m now hearing the honest conversations as an unbiased third party, but I’m the wrong person for them to be directed to.
One of many things we can do to increase levels of trust within our organizations is to start being honest with each other. We have to start somewhere, and I believe one place we can all make a difference is by making a personal commitment to have honest conversations with our colleagues, managers, and team members.
It Works
One of my coaching clients just realized this for herself last month. This “thing” had been draining her for months, hurting productivity and morale. I asked if she had talked with her colleague about it. She had not (this is the typical response I get). So one of her action items was to have the conversation with this person, and we talked about the best way strategically to approach the dialogue. It’s very important that you give some thought to the language you plan to use.
A few weeks later, we were debriefing her action items, and these were her exact words, “Having the conversation with him ended up being much easier than I thought. He was very receptive to what I shared, and I’m glad I framed it the way we discussed. I had never thought to frame the situation that way before, in a way that resonated with both of us and not just me. We had an excellent conversation.” And boom, just like that, this roadblock was removed, and a constructive working relationship had begun to form.
Your Turn
Try having an honest conversation this month that has been weighing on you. I venture to bet you’ll feel a sense of relief and will also realize more constructive outcomes than you’ve possibly had in years. What’s holding you back? Let’s work together to reframe our discussions in the workplace. Back to the basics with this one. #honesty
