Is your organization built on a culture of trust?

Look around you; there are plenty of clues as to whether trust abounds. How quickly are decisions made? How many people do you copy (or worse, bcc) on emails? Do executives check in on the “troops” even when on vacation?

Given that 82 percent of workers don’t trust their boss, trust is a scarce resource in many organizations.

When it comes to creating a trusting workplace culture, the best place to start is with you. As a leader, you either believe in someone’s trustworthiness or you don’t. Leaders who try to split the difference with “trust but verify” won’t build a culture of healthy organizational trust.

Trusting others doesn’t mean that you abdicate your responsibility as a leader. Quite the opposite: When you create a culture of trust, you are demonstrating your belief in others—that, given the proper tools, objectives, and leadership guidance, people can and will step up and give their best. This takes courage—it’s not always easy to trust when the stakes are high or grievances inform your thinking.

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