360-Degree Trust – Part 1
What is Trust? I’m sure that the word trust conjures up different thoughts for different people. So, let’s start with a definition according to the Oxford Dictionary: firm belief in the reliability, ability or strength of someone or something.
Why is trust so important for organizations, companies, or teams? Trust is the glue that holds everything together. Without trust nothing works. I will take it one step further. When I talk about trust, I talk about a 360-degree trust. I believe the 360-degree trust is comprised of four parts.
The first part of that 360-degree trust is the led-leader trust. The people being led must trust their leader. Obviously, that is an important part of trust. In fact, without that part of the trust equation nothing else really matters.
The second part of that 360-degree trust is the leader must trust those they lead. The leader must trust that the people they lead can accomplish the things they are asked to accomplish. If that part of the trust equation is missing, then you get leaders that become micro-managers.
The third part of the 360-degree equation is that each member of the team must trust the other members of the team. They must trust that each member of the team knows their jobs and can be trusted to accomplish their part of the job.
The last part of the 360-degree equation is the trust your team develops with people outside your organization. Let’s face it, no one is going to do business with your organization if this trust does not exist. It is vital to your business dealing with others.
If you want to build an effective, efficient, and productive team, then building trust is vital. You must develop a 360-degree trust – trust between the led and leader, between the leader and led, between the members of the team and finally trust between your team and the organizations you do business with. If you do accomplish this, you will be amazed at how much your team can accomplish.
Part two of the trust blog will deal with some of the ways you build this 360-degree trust in your organization.