A Crisis of Trust
Last night, I stopped at my neighborhood market to pick up a last-minute item for dinner. When I put the product on the counter to check out, I realized that I only had $2 in my wallet, but the store requires a $15 minimum purchase for debit card use and my item totaled $4. When I told the clerk, who I assume is also the store owner, that I didn’t have enough cash, she said “Don’t worry, I trust you. Pay me tomorrow.” This woman had never met me, yet she said she trusted me.
That single kind act will most likely make me a loyal customer. This woman’s level of trust is probably her virtue, and not a business tactic. But at the enterprise level, building a culture of trust is not only a valuable asset for an organization, it should be the company’s economic driver.
Trust, however, at this level is not as easy to attain as the market example. In his book The Speed of Trust, Stephen M.R. Covey says in today’s global society exists a crisis of trust. He cited a 2005 Harris poll which revealed that only 12 percent of the people surveyed trust big companies. Low trust is everywhere, he said, and results in a costly downward cycle.
Teaching that trust can be a strategic advantage. It means investing in employees by building positive relationships, collaborating regularly, aligning systems, actively engaging employees, and promoting open communication. This investment will produce dividends in the form of empowerment, teamwork, leadership, brand loyalty, and a motivated workforce.
Trusting is innate--to trust is to be human. Learning to develop and extend that trust is the hard part.
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