Working with Trust

Neill Allan

neill.allan@abilityeurope.com

0118 9781440; 07767 783440

Skype:neillallan

Why does trust matter?

Added Value

Added value always comes from utilising knowledge

All attempts at adding value involve some risk

The quality of the knowledge that supports the added value action is therefore important

Self Interest

The requirement to gain knowledge required to create action motivates us to risk seeking knowledge from others

Trust is more important in a competitive arena

Knowledge can only be volunteered not conscripted

What is trust?

Some Trust Definitions

Confidence in or reliance on some quality or attribute of a person or thing, or the truth of a statement;

Accepting or giving credit to without investigation or evidence;

Giving credence to, believing (a statement); relying upon the veracity or evidence of (a person, etc.);

Confident expectations of something;

The quality of being trustworthy; fidelity, reliability, loyalty, trustiness

Trust Levels

Trust and Distrust are both opposites and complement each other because both function to reduce social complexity

The natural antithesis of Trust is Control

High levels of trust produce high levels of efficiency. Low trust levels absorb large amounts of resource from exercising controls

Two levels of trust Benevolence based trust (unconditional or

personal trust)

Competence based trust (conditional trust)

What underpins trust?

Personality based trust: derived from infant/caregiver relationship

Institutional based trust: social values and rules, guarantees, ‘safety nets’, job role expectations

Cognitive based trust: impressions of each other, experiences over time judged against expectations

Dimensions of trustworthy behaviour

Behavioural consistency

Behavioural integrity

Sharing and delegation of control

Communication

Demonstration of concern

What affects trust?

Trust based behaviours

Identity based – I trust you because of your role or position e.g. doctor

Reciprocity based – I engage in trust behaviour because I believe you will too

Elicitative Trust – By engaging in acts of trust I will elicit trust from the other person

Compensatory trust – predicated on the belief that some, but not all, will fail to engage in the valued behaviour.

Moralistic Trust – I will act in a trustworthy way irrespective of what others do

Johari’s Window

Me looking in O

the

rs l

oo

kin

g in

Shared Known only to me

Known only to others

Unknown Potential

Initial Situation

With Trust & Co-operation

A pattern of development

In self-organising groups trust expectations often

start with high level of ‘good faith effort’

Followed by Auditing Affective - I feel…

Cognitive - I think …

Intended behaviour – I will…

look for levels of honesty in negotiation

look for others taking excess advantage

Intuitive Auditing - Mental Account Measures are related to but not derived from actual behaviours

High levels of trust absorb higher levels of disappointment

Trust Reinforcement and Loss

Psychological Contract Exists between trustor and trustee

Perceptions of institutional/structural trust may reinforce or conflict with the individual’s psychological contract

Loss of trust Words describing undermined trust are often strong e.g.

betrayal, violation, abuse

Trust growth is slow, betrayal rapid often ‘catastrophic

Often associated with damaged identity, social reputation, and can lead to reprisal e.g through misinformation, avoidance

Crisis management emphasises the importance of trust but

often makes it more problematic

Misconceptions in Groups

Groupthink alters perceptions of reality and meaning

High trust can mean that evidence which runs counter to beliefs is explained

away, ignored, deemed inaccurate, or deemed uninformative

is assumed to be ambiguous or incomplete allowing reinforcement of pre-existing beliefs

Integrating Trust and Distrust: Alternative Realities

HIGH TRUST Characterised by: Hope Faith Confidence, Assurance, Initiative

High Value congruence Interdependence promoted Opportunities pursued New Initiatives

Trust but verify Relationships highly segmented and bounded Opportunities pursued and downside risks/vulnerabilities continually monitored

LOW TRUST Characterised by: No hope, No faith, No confidence, Passivity, Hesitance

Casual acquaintances Limited interdependence Bounded arms-length Transactions Professional courtesy

Undesirable eventualities expected and feared Harmful motives assumed Interdependence managed Preemption: best offence is a good defence Paranoia

LOW DISTRUST Characterised by: No fear, Absence of scepticism and cynicism, Low monitoring, No vigilance

HIGH DISTRUST Characterised by: Fear, Scepticism, Cynicism, Wariness and watchfulness, Vigilance

Practicalities?

Trusting managers

4 key dimensions of trust expectations in managers

Competence

Openness

Concern

Reliability

The Process of Trust Development

Trust Building Processes Underlying behavioural assumptions

Calculative:Trustor calculates the costs and rewards of a trustee acting in an untrustworthy way Predictive:Trustor develops confidence that a trustee's behaviour can be predicted Intentionality:Trustor evaluates a trustee's motivations Capability:Trustor assesses a trustee's ability to fulfil their promises Transference:Trustor draws on proof sources from which trust can be transferred to trustee

Individuals are opportunistic and seek to maximise self interest.

Individual behaviour is consistent and predictable Individuals are geared towards others – motivated to seek joint gain

Individuals differ in their competence expertise and thus ability to deliver on promises

Individuals and institutions can be trusted.; connections in a network are strong and trusted

Macro and Micro management

Macro management Emotionally intelligent management of organisational culture

and subcultures

Including concern for space and layout

Trust facilitating policies and protocols, tools and systems

Support for learning processes

Including development of informal networks

Micro management Cross cultural management

Maximizing on the diversity of Traits

Permissions and Expectations

Identity

Social interactions

Informal Structures

A community creates the social fabric of learning. A strong community fosters interactions and relationships based on mutual respect and trust. It encourages a willingness to share ideas, expose one’s ignorance, ask difficult questions and listen carefully.

Communities of practice are groups of people who share a passion for something that they know how to do and who interact regularly to learn how to do it better. Etienne Wenger

Trust within organisations 1

Macro-level: command/control - low creativity and

flexibility high expectation of social rules. Institutional trust needs to be high, but

unconditional trust can be high too

Self directed self motivated organisations require high levels of personality based trust, strongly assisted by strong corporate values

Trust within organisations 2

Meso-level: Collaboration networks found to be centred around Place and kinship

Professional communities

Shared historical experiences

Utilitarian advantage

Mutual dependency

Trust within organisations 3

Micro-level: 3 alternatives Deliverance based – countermanding a credible

threat of punishment

Identification based trust

Knowledge based trust – allows predictability

Flexible and temporary groups often show a tendency to a quick assumption of trust.

Testing Trust

4 main reactions • Do it without qualms (30-45%)

• Do it then think should I have done that? (35-50%)

• Very tempted to not do it or refuse (20-25%)

• Find it totally offensive. Seen as betrayal (1-10%)

Psychological contract

Round up

Trust and Distrust are both opposites and complement each other because both function to reduce social complexity

The natural antithesis of Trust is Control

High levels of trust produce high levels of efficiency. Low trust levels absorb large amounts of resource from exercising controls

Remember the Psychological Contract

Competence based trust not Benevolence based trust is generally sufficient at work

Trust Auditing: Assess Trustor and Trustee trustworthy behaviour and adjust actions accordingly

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