workplace culture
Is Your Team
TRUSTING
or Just
POLITE?
FOUR STEPS TO ENSURE A TRUSTING
CORPORATE CULTURE
By Ben Bryant
Between Samsung explosions and
Volkswagen recalls, FIFA’s racketeering
and Wells Fargo’s fake
accounts, some of the most recent
corporate scandals have been
mainstream events with far-reaching impact.
They’ve not only clouded public
perceptions of business in general, but
also highlighted the pervasive mistrust
underpinning interactions among corporate
executives themselves. Individual
whistleblowers won’t bring about sweeping
cultural change. We need leaders who
will help whole organizations become vibrant
sources of trust.
But this type of corporate culture isn’t
easy to establish. Sure, leaders aspire to
create challenging discussions that can
move their organizations forward. But
does the corporate culture allow them to
challenge their teams without descending
into personal attacks? The willingness to
challenge is often undermined by an already
existing absence of trust marked by
politeness and defensive behaviour.
So how can senior managers create
teams that feel trusting enough to enable
challenge?
There are four steps to developing and
maintaining trust:
First, managers must recognize the
symptoms of low levels of trust. These are
often seen in how communications takes
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