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Change the Trust Equation

Guest post by: Eric Douglas

Article Overview: Some people are inherently reluctant to change. Others embrace it. To accelerate the pace of change, you may need to change “the trust equation.�

Change the Trust Equation

Some people are inherently reluctant to change. Others embrace it. To accelerate the pace of change, you may need to change "the trust equation." I've talked before about how trust hinges on predictable expectations. If I do something for you, then I expect to get something in return. That's the principle of reciprocal altruism. It's at the root of all productive human relationships. Changing the trust equation means animating the workplace with mechanisms of reciprocity that build trust and encourage change, rather than subvert it.

First and foremost, people need to believe that the change will result in an overall improvement in the way the company does business. At Apple Computers, what drives change is a relentless focus on the user. CEO Steve Jobs has created a culture that is continuously experimenting with new ways to surprise and delight its customers. That focus has resulted in a synthesis of software and hardware innovations in the form of products like iTunes and iPod.

Intel is another company with a relentless focus on change. With each new project, employees compete for positions on project teams. Those who bring the best ideas and proven skills get selected. Those who get left out are literally left without jobs. It's "survival of the fittest," and it creates a culture of continuous improvement, innovation, and success at Intel.

In the end, the most powerful way to accelerate the pace of change is to engage people in real, honest discussions. Once people understand why continuous change is truly important for the company's future, it ignites a sense of ownership. This has nothing to do with compensation and everything to do with instilling a sense of purpose. Once people see what is truly essential for the company's success, it unleashes the natural drive to improve.

It is the leader's job to make sure honest conversation is taking place regularly throughout the organization. Building systems of communication is the most important thing you can do.

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Article Tags: building trust, change trust, leadership, leadership trust, trust, trust equation



Related Forum Posts
Re: Essential Leadership skills - Vigilance Trust An ability to DELEGATE
Re: Spellcheck? - [quote="TheAnonymousMan":2f894q6j]When discussing the majority of people I would definitely say that most people hit the "Change" or "Ignore" button without thinking too much about the correct spelling of a word. All bosses are concerned about is getting the report to the Directors meeting on time.[/quote:2f894q6j] That probably depends on what the "majority" are trying to accomplish. I have word set to alert me about misspellings and grammatical problems, so I fix most as I go. But I also add names etc to the dictionary because I get tired of seeing the red and green squiggles when I know the info is right. If you're only going to click "Change" or "Ignore" then why bother to take the time to use spell check????? Business people that I work for want the info compiled in a timely manner and they want it right - which is fine because that's the way I strive to do any project. Sending out a memo, letter, report etc with obvious spelling and grammatical mistakes makes the person and the company look bad as far as I'm concerned. Shri
Re: Bad credit guaranteed home loan? - Lending money to people with bad credit was one of the biggest things that put our economy under and many lenders out of business. I'd say if you have this opportunity take it now before it goes away. Trust me, if there are any of these programs left (and don't expect a low interest rate if your credit is bad) they won't be around for ever. At ANY interest rate.
Re: How do you earn trust with an online business? - Add VALUE to your target market. How? Well depends. If your business can start by Educating the target market about how your product or Service can add value to their lives. This can be done via Video (hot right now), basic text, audio etc. I've had a lot of success with Video and am using it primarily as a lead generation tool. If done right your Content can add Value and add to your bottom line at the same time while building Trust.
Re: Do Your Prospects / Customers Trust You? - This is so true. In the software business, if you don't earn their trust in the first few days they start implementing it, they tend to just give up on using it at all.....even if they may have lost a lot of money. With software, silly glitches can have a huge bearing on your newer clients. Especially if they are brand new to software in general. The more established users understand that when you are constantly building and developing the software, there are going to be glitches along the way. Trust is a must!


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