The Trust Factor

Douglas Conant, former president and CEO of Campbell Soup Company, once said, “Trust gives you the permission to give people direction, get everyone aligned, and give them the energy to go get the job done. Trust enables you to execute with excellence and produce extraordinary results. As you execute with excellence and deliver on your commitments, trust becomes easier to inspire, creating a flywheel of performance.”

If trust is the flywheel of performance, what are you doing today to create trust with your peers, boss and organization? How do you instill in these people the trust needed so that everyone can perform at their highest level and create extraordinary results? Simply refer back to the last sentence of Douglas’s quote, “…execute with excellence and deliver on your commitments.”

Think about the people you’ve encountered who have earned your trust over the years. Trustworthy individuals embody consistency, honesty and integrity. They walk the walk and talk the talk each and every day, making them reliable and someone to be counted on. These kinds of folks have an energy about them that is contagious. They are what I call a “safe place.” You can safely put yourself out there to trustworthy people without fear of recrimination or overzealous criticism. This healthy relationship allows you to perform at optimum capacity knowing that you have the support and leadership that will back you up, provide honest feedback and help you succeed.

So how can you be trustworthy? Without a doubt you must live and breathe the kind of consistency you yourself crave from someone you trust. But how do we remain consistent when our business lives are in constant flux and change seems to be the only constant?

To be consistent, you must showcase clear and aligned expectations between yourself and those you work with every day. As our work environment continuously shifts, we must take time to understand how these changes affect what we expect from one another. Once expectations are defined, it is imperative to clearly convey your directives from the top to the bottom. Communication is instrumental in being trustworthy and solidifies alignment, which only bolsters our flywheel of performance.

So, if you are searching for your trust factor, for yourself and/or others, there are a few things you can do:

1) Understand that trust starts with you; don’t look for others to create it.

2) Don’t fall victim to someone else’s lack of transparency; expect that others may not trust as easily as you do. Don’t use this as an excuse to do the same.

3) Clarify expectations for yourself and others in order to accomplish set goals. Dependency on others to execute according to those expectations is mandatory for success. Translation: set quality goals and trust your team.

4) Have the courage to sit down with your peers, direct reports and boss to align goals, define expectations and strategize on how each of you will execute your objectives (communicate, communicate, communicate).

5) Realize that our business life is constantly changing, which means our needs and expectations will change as well. Be in constant communication with your team – a little reality check will go a long way in keeping everyone on the same page.

We are defined by what we do every day, and by creating trust, not only will you create a work environment that breeds success, but also a reputation as a person of integrity. In the long run, this is what we will be judged by throughout our career.

So, if you are in need of a refresher: Someone with integrity and trust is widely trusted, is seen as a direct, truthful individual; can present the unvarnished truth in an appropriate and helpful manner; keeps confidences; admits mistakes; doesn’t misrepresent him/herself for personal gain.

I think this is a concept I can handle, how about you?