Jennifer Spear is a recovering corporate exec; keynote speaker; facilitator & Co-Founder, Chaos Lab; & president, Clean Slate Strategies.
getty
Everything we do either builds or breaks trust, and after two-plus years in the pandemic, it appears that we have some work to do.
My company's new research study, Chaos2Clarity, examined the impact of Covid on the human condition. One of the major themes, or truths, that the research unmasked is that trust is broken.
Government and health officials have broken trust with citizens. Companies have broken trust with their employees. Industries have broken trust with customers.
John M. Barry, author of The Great Influenza, commented that “Society is largely based on trust when you get right down to it, and without that there’s an alienation that works its way through the fabric of society.”
Throughout the pandemic, we were being communicated at, often in confusing, disjointed ways. Messages about what we needed to do and the safety precautions required were often conflicting, depending on who you were listening to, and as we learned more, even those we were listening to were changing their narrative as the situation evolved.
For example, on January 20, 2020, the head of the Public Health Agency of Canada, Theresa Tam, tweeted, “I don’t think there’s reason for us to panic or be overly concerned,” and on March 5, she believed sealing off borders was not an effective approach to containing the virus. But on February 26, Canada’s health minister advised people to stockpile food and medication. By March 11, the World Health Organization declared we were in a pandemic, and the next day, the prime minister's wife tested positive, putting the family into quarantine. By late March, all provinces and territories were in states of emergency.
What we didn't realize was that that was to be expected. We didn’t know everything at the start. Still, the shifting messaging was perceived by some as proof that certain sources could not be trusted.
During Covid-19, epidemiologists found themselves in the spotlight and were often criticized for their changing messages. David Abramson of NYU’s School of Global Public Health was quoted in the New York Times saying he wished they had “reinforced how much science changes daily, and with it the recommendations for protective actions.” Scientists understand that health advice will and should change as they learn new things.
At work, prior to the pandemic, very few employees were allowed to work remotely. When the pandemic was announced, within two weeks it seemed as if everyone (other than essential workers) went home to work.
With over two years of remote work under our belt, most employees report higher productivity and higher job satisfaction compared to those working onsite. Now as all restrictions are being lifted, many companies are calling everyone back to the office, leaving many to question why.
Unless it is communicated otherwise, these seemingly arbitrary demands to return to the workplace leave the perception that there is a lack of trust.
Regardless of the sector, there are steps we can follow in order to rebuild trust, and it all starts with how we communicate.
Clear And Consistent Communication
In order to gain trust, consistency and transparency are required. It is important as a leader that you show up and you share information honestly, clearly and consistently.
When messages are not clear or when the content changes and appears contradictory, employees may not know what to believe.
In my company's study, one question provided respondents with a list of 25 common phrases or idioms and asked them to select up to five that have more meaning to them as a result of the pandemic. The number one idiom selected was “Don’t believe everything you hear.” This may speak to the confusion created by all the mixed messages that people were exposed to from the mass media, social media, authorities and the public and the sharing of misinformation.
Communicate Uncertainty And Admit Mistakes
Studies on physician-patient interactions have found that communicating uncertainty and even admitting mistakes is not detrimental and can even be beneficial to trustworthiness. When communicating uncertainties in a transparent way, we are perceived as less biased and willing to tell the truth.
In our current climate, any person or organization that genuinely wants to be trusted should work on communicating their expertise, honesty and benevolence (care and concern for others).
Give Trust To Get Trust
Can you trust if you are not trusted?
It can be difficult to give trust if you yourself do not feel trusted. When employees are instructed to return to the office without being given a compelling reason, the silence sounds like distrust.
Trust, or the lack of it, contributes to the psychological safety of the workplace. It is an important factor in why people leave—and why they stay. Employees who feel cared for, who feel safe to share ideas and trusted to perform are less likely to be searching for a new job. In the height of the Great Resignation, creating an environment of trust and support can be one of the greatest competitive advantages, and it may require you to give trust first.
Creating a safe, trusting environment not only helps retain employees, but it encourages them to bring their most creative selves to work, which can pay dividends to the organization. In an earlier Forbes article, I shared the importance of creating a psychologically safe work environment in order for employees to be willing to innovate. Employees who feel safe feel trusted and are more likely to share their ideas, take initiative and solve problems. Creating psychologically safe environments can unlock creativity and loyalty and could turn the Great Resignation into something like the Great Embrace for those who attend to it.
The Great Rebuild
When there is trust and employees feel psychologically safe, it allows them to do their best work, be creative, embrace new goals and objectives, collaborate constructively and innovate. Trust has been broken in many aspects of our lives; the employers who get this right will have a distinct competitive advantage because we can only grow at the speed of trust.
Trust me, we have work to do.
Forbes Coaches Council is an invitation-only community for leading business and career coaches. Do I qualify?
