In a world where technology and statistics seem to rule the business world, interpersonal trust still plays a significant role in a company’s success. Studies have shown that a high level of trust between an employer and their subordinate leads to higher levels of employee task performance, citizenship behavior (beyond what is required for an individual’s job), emotional and organizational commitment, job and leader satisfaction, and altruism.
Trust in leadership also has the power to increase team cohesion and fosters creativity. The added faith in leaders allows other team members to shed self-doubt and put their best effort forward in order to help the group as a whole. Trust and leadership causes employees to adopt the manager’s dreams, hopes and ethics as their own, and ultimately supports shifting a job into a passion.
Although the positive results of trust are clear, the very meaning of trust and how to create it often remain hazy in the business world. Like love, trust is an emotion that plays a vital role in our society but it can mean different things to different people. The meaning is still debated amongst the scientific community, but it is generally believed that trust is an individual’s decision to accept vulnerability and risk based on his or her positive expectations of the intentions or behavior of the trusted party. It can be developed through a variety of ways. Simply increasing interaction – both in and out of the workplace – can help to increase trust amongst peers and leaders. Feedback, both in the form of positive and negative creative criticism, also works to enhance trust. Compliments, especially when given publicly such as in a meeting, can expedite the development of trust, even if the compliments are small and barely noted by others.
The ultimate compliment and show of faith in an employee is for their leader to place trust in them. It truly transforms the relationship and, if the subordinate has already adopted the leader’s vision, it gives them an even greater opportunity to fulfill it.
Karen Hargrove, our amazing summer intern, contributed this post from an excerpt of a business psychology paper that she wrote at Santa Clara University entitled, “Risky Business: The Role of Trust in Organizational Relationships.” Karen is studying psychology and business and is particularly interested in management, marketing and industrial organizational psychology.
