Talking Trust in Trinidad

I recently had the opportunity to work with a group of HR professionals in Trinidad, through Queen’s IRC’s partnership with the Arthur Lok Jack Graduate School of Business within the University of the West Indies.

As part of our discussion about building trust in the workplace, we discussed behaviours that lowered trust and those that raised trust. It did not take long for the participants to generate lists of behaviours through table discussion. It was not surprising how frequently participants pointed to similar behaviours in very different workplaces.

Below are two lists of behaviours which affected levels of trust in their workplaces. Have you experienced these in your workplace?

Behaviours which they experienced in their workplaces that LOWERED trust:

1. Dishonesty from management and leadership
2. Leadership not walking the talk
3. Lack of transparency (hidden agendas)
4. Not admitting mistakes
5. Playing favourites/showing bias
6. Lack of open dialogue (secret side deals)
7. Lack of rewards and recognition
8. No credit given for ideas contributed
9. Executives not fulfilling responsibilities
10. Lack of communication
11. Unwillingness to change
12. Selective sharing of information
13. Double delegation
14. Personal biases and prejudice
15. Double standards
16. Incompetence
17. Not listening
18. Breach of confidence
19. Acting without facts

Behaviours which they experienced in their workplaces that RAISED the level of trust:

1. Keeping your word
2. Being honest, fair and treating people equally
3. Rewarding and recognizing employee performance
4. Mentoring other employees
5. Delegating responsibility
6. Sharing information
7. Being personally accountable
8. Supporting structures such as policy, training, internal promotions, penalties, and sanctions
9. Keeping confidentiality
10. Supporting work-life balance
11. Demonstrating competence
12. Giving credit for work and ideas
13. Coaching and acting as a change agent
14. Demonstrating integrity
15. Leading by example

To learn some ways to help build trust in an organization, please read 5 Steps to Build Trust and Change the Culture in an Organization

If you are interested in building trust training for yourself or your organization, please visit Building Trust in the Workplace.