Best choice is to trust

Learning & Innovation – July 13, 2006
By Moje Ramos-Aquino, FPM

Best choice is to trust

Previously we were discussing why we need to stick our neck out and simply trust people, the system, the organization and others. Do we have a choice?

Maybe, there are people and organizations with less than decent or virtuous motives—e.g. those who swindle people of their lifetime savings through pyramid business schemes or those with vicious mindset—maybe. Still in our day-to-day social and business life, the people we meet or the organization to which we belong or the system and conditions under which we operate are meant to support us fulfill our goals and objectives. Tell me, how many of the people you know you could trust? Otherwise, you wouldn’t even throw them a glance or give them a thought.

Leaders, especially, need to trust and earn trust. Authors Robert Galford and Anne Seibord Drapeau tell us why in their book, The Trusted Leader. The first three benefits are that trusted leadership frees people, fuels passion and provides focus.

Likewise, trusted leadership fosters innovation. “When people don’t feel that they have to analyze every last little thing through a lens of distrust, they can spend time, instead, exploring new ways to solve problems or to take the company forward, without fear that their won actions are going to be misperceived as wasteful. At some companies, that kind of exploration is built into the job descriptions, and trusted leaders allow it to happen. People can tinker and they often emerge with great results.”

In our personal dealings, trusting leads us to creatively and jointly solve problems, instead of blaming. We focus on what we could do and do differently, not on collecting excuses for failures.

Trusted leadership gives people the time to get it right. “As you can see, all of these benefits of trusted leadership are interwoven; they feed upon and build upon one another. When leaders do not encourage freedom and focus, people tend to make decisions too quickly; they want to produce results so that the spotlight can be off them and on to the next person as quickly as possible. They pass the ball and pass the buck and just get out an answer—any answer—so that they can claim closure. With trust, it’s OK if the buck stops at you for a while. People feel free to say, ‘I need more time to get this right.’ They don’t just get it done; they get the right thing done.”

When we personally trust or be trusted, we allow people to do right without rushing or constantly checking on them. A sense of urgency is important, but we allow those we trust to use their time judiciously and take extra time when needed. We don’t simply go around accusing people of slacking. Lack of trust make people pretend to be busy without real accomplishment.

Trusted leadership lowers costs. Trusting relationships, personal or business, work at improving their communication process and style. There is nothing better than discussing and ironing out kinks from the very start, than argue all the way to an unseen ending. Nobody ever quantifies the cost of having to argue about some things all the time. Trust allows people to clarify and agree of expectations—deadlines, resources needed, quality standards, etc.

I trust that you will read the next column for more on trust.

Taiwan is inviting to their Summit on Globalization of Human Resources 2006 in Taipei this September 22 & 23. “Our goals for the summit are to raise competitiveness of the diverse global interests of business executives and HR professionals, to enhance greater participation in international exchange and cooperation and, by doing so, to promote the Human Resource Development movement locally, nationally and internationally.”

Please go to www.sghr2006.tw for details or email to hyhsu@tcfst.org.tw.

(Moje, president of Paradigms & Paradoxes Corp, could be reached at innovationcamp@yahoo.com)