Aristotle believed trust was based on three things – your perception of the competence, character and goodwill of the other party. Raising the issue of trust at work sparks some interesting reactions. It’s not a topic everyone is comfortable with.

 

The Leadership Challenge found that the three characteristics of leaders most admired by employees were integrity, competence and leadership. The good news is that the ILM found that the longer CEOs and line managers were in the post the more trusted they were. Unfortunately, they also found that the longer an employee stays with an organisation the less they trust the management team!

 

Trust built on good, old-fashioned virtues such as clarity of communication, consistency and courage – why, when the benefits are so obvious – engaged employees, retention of talent, positive work culture, productivity – do so few leaders realise the value of trust in the workplace? Perhaps they are afraid of losing control and not knowing what’s going on?

 

 

Kouzes, J.M. & Posner, B.Z. The Leadership Challenge: How to Get Extraordinary Things Done in Organisations, San Francisco, Jossey-Bass, 1990