The Importance of Trust

What is trust?

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Trust doesn’t mean that everyone in the office must be best friends, it isn’t even about being helpful. Everyone on the team is working to the same, agreed aim, is transparent about their work and does what they say they are going to do. Also, it is an accepted fact that this is the case. 

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There is a big difference between instant trust and earned trust - instant trust is a choice on the basis of no prior information, earned trust happens over time. An example of this is when someone joins a company - their manager might trust them right away, this is a choice made by the manager, they have no reason to trust that new person yet but nor do they have a reason to distrust them. Over time that instant trust hopefully turns into earned trust once the manager sees that the new employee is competent and delivers on their promises. 

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Why do we need trust?

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Workers at companies where trust is high report 106% greater energy levels, 74% lower stress levels, 76% greater engagement and 50% more productivity than peers at low-trust businesses. 

This tells us two things, trust is not just a nice to have, it is essential to get a high-functioning team and that it is pervasive and touches every aspect of business.

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