I once attended a prestigious training on workplace systems design
that boiled down to one key message: trust is an essential component to
developing and sustaining productive workplaces.
But what happens when trust in the workplace is broken? The truth is that establishing and maintaining
trust in the workplace is the result of consistent and repetitive efforts. There is no magic bullet or dramatic quick
fix. And where trust has been broken, we
have to take an honest look at the reasons why before slowly and consistently
working to right the workplace wrongs.
As a workplace mediator and facilitator, I routinely walk
into situations where trust has been broken in the workplace. While these breakdowns are challenging, they
also represent a tremendous opportunity to set things right. Whether the trust breakdown is due to poor
communication, bad attitudes, toxic workplace culture or ineffective leadership,
repairing trust in the workplace can and should become a priority in order to
help the workplace function going forward.
In her book Rising
Strong, Dr.
Brene Brown summarizes her research about trust in the form of a helpful
acronym: BRAVING. Each letter
corresponds to a critical element of trust, an element that needs to exist in
order for trust to exist in a relationship.
Let’s take a look at how these elements play out in the workplace in
order to establish, maintain, and even restore trust:
B – Boundaries
I have already written about the
importance of establishing clear roles and responsibilities at work to
ensure workplace function and productivity, but that is just the tip of the
boundaries iceberg. On a more
fundamental level, workplaces thrive when people communicate with each other
with respect, clear intention, and appropriateness. That means boundaries are set, understood and
respected. This is a key element to
effective communication in the workplace; where boundaries are ill defined or
ignored, trust breaks down and conflicts take hold.
R – Reliability
Reliability in the workplace means doing what you say, when
you say it, and doing this consistently.
Coming through and being true to your word again and again is the only
way to establish reliability. Without
this, there can be no trust that anything will actually get done. Another sometimes overlooked way to establish
reliability is to be careful not to over-promise and under-deliver; be clear
about your capabilities, availability and limitations so you can always do what
you said you were going to do. And
remember, actions speak louder than words in establishing workplace
reliability: always produce what you have promised.
A – Accountability
Establishing accountability in the workplace means creating
an environment where employees who make a mistake can take responsibility for
it, apologize and then make amends to try and set things right. For management employees, this is an excellent
opportunity to demonstrate leadership and cultivate a culture of trust. And there is no better way to foster
innovation and creativity – necessary elements for successful workplaces - than
by creating an environment where everyone can take chances, explore new ways of
achieving goals, and learn from mistakes in order to improve functionality. Unfortunately, the opposite is true; where
there is no accountability, there is no trust, and no freedom to try new things
or grow. Lack of accountability leads to
stagnation, and leaves a workplace open for conflict when no one wants to
accept responsibility for things gone wrong.
