Trust? Really?
Pat Townsend & Joan Gebhardt
ptownsend@qualitydigest.com
Many American business executives
get up each morning and drive to work. While driving to
work, they use their brake pedal repeatedly even though
they have no idea who actually assembled the braking mechanism
on their car. For that matter, because of language differences,
they probably couldn’t talk with the autoworker anyway.
But they trust that the brakes will work and that the assembly
technician did his or her job well--every time.
At each traffic light, these executives happily cross
through the intersection when the light is green, blithely
trusting that the folks approaching the corner on crossing
streets will stop because of the red light facing them.
Once they’ve reached their building and parked in
one of the executive parking spaces, they go into the building,
get into the elevator, and go up to their floor (most likely
at, or near, the top). While riding in the elevator, they
don’t bother to check to see who has signed the certificate
that promises that the elevator won’t suddenly plunge
into the basement. They trust that the work has been done
and checked correctly.
By the time they arrive at their offices and settle in
for a long day’s work, they’ve trusted their
lives to dozens of strangers. Yet, once they begin functioning
in their corporate world, they find it difficult to trust
Mary Jane with a $20 decision, and she’s been with
the company for 15 years.
It just doesn’t make any sense and is tough to explain,
much less defend.
A quality effort, no matter how structured or formal,
depends on trust--specifically, two-way trust. The folks
below the level of “senior decision maker” must
trust that the folks at the top are serious when they extend
the invitation to “think and take part in the decision
making around here because you know things that we don’t
know.” Moreover, the senior management members must
trust that the employees will respond and make things work
better.
Trust, like loyalty, only really works if it’s active
and reciprocal. However, it has to start somewhere, and
that “somewhere” is at the top. Trust must first
be extended from the executives to the employees. For some
executives, that requires a very real leap of faith. A half-measure
won’t do; a leap of faith will be insufficient.
The correct way to begin a quality process is by asking,
“Who can we afford to exclude from this effort to
improve?” rather than, “Who should we allow
to take part in this quality effort?” The way to establish
an environment of trust is not by asking, “Who can
we trust among our employees?” but rather, “Who
don’t we dare trust among our employees?”
If an executive actually comes up with one or more names
in response to that last question, the follow-up questions
are, “Why isn’t that person considered trustworthy?”
and, as long as this is a fair assessment, “Why are
we paying someone we don’t trust?”
Will everyone respond immediately, accept and return the
trust and begin making improvements? No, because of previous
work experiences or personal attitudes and maturity levels,
some will hesitate. Others will accept the invitation at
different speeds, but the invitation must be extended. The
option must lie on the employees’ side of the table.
Being willing to make the leap of faith to trust employees
(a decision that’s supported by a great deal of documented
evidence) vs. retaining all final decision-making authority
is the difference between being a leader in pursuit of quality
and being a productivity-seeking manager.
The world moves too quickly to allow time for senior managers
to grasp all control any more than they have time to double-check
the brakes and the elevator mechanism each morning while
conducting background checks on all approaching drivers
and their cars’ maintenance records.
If 2003 is to be a successful year marked by continual
improvement throughout the organization, the senior management
team will have to invite all employees to take part in the
effort. And the invitation must be open-ended and sincere.
Next month we’ll address the idea of how to build
a structure that “trusts” the employees while
maintaining appropriate discipline and focus.
Pat Townsend and Joan Gebhardt have written more than
200 articles and six books, including Commit to Quality
(John Wiley & Sons, 1986); Quality in Action: 93
Lessons in Leadership, Participation, and Measurement
(John Wiley & Sons, 1992); Five-Star Leadership:
The Art and Strategy of Creating Leaders at Every Level
(John Wiley & Sons, 1997); Recognition, Gratitude
& Celebration (Crisp Publications, 1997); How
Organizations Learn: Investigate, Identify, Institutionalize
(Crisp Publications, 1999); and Quality Is Everybody's
Business (CRC Press, 1999). Pat Townsend has recently
re-entered the corporate world and is now dealing with “leadership.com”
issues as a practitioner as well as an observer, writer
and speaker. He is now chief quality officer for UICI, a
diverse financial services corporation headquartered in
the Dallas area. Letters to the editor regarding this column
can be sent to letters@qualitydigest.com.
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