{"id":4114,"date":"2012-08-08T09:26:14","date_gmt":"2012-08-08T16:26:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.yammer.com\/blog\/?p=4114"},"modified":"2023-03-20T12:42:28","modified_gmt":"2023-03-20T19:42:28","slug":"trust-in-the-workplace-what-does-it-mean-to-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/microsoft-365\/blog\/2012\/08\/08\/trust-in-the-workplace-what-does-it-mean-to-you\/","title":{"rendered":"Trust In The Workplace: What Does It Mean To You?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Trust is both a cause and an effect of company culture. The trust we have in each other informs how we operate, and the way we operate encourages trust. A chat with Yammer CTO and co-founder\u00a0Adam Pisoni <\/a>a few months ago got me thinking about trust in the context of organizational dynamics. \u00a0Adam said something that stuck with me: bureaucracy exists where trust doesn’t; excessive process and overhead exist because people don’t trust each other to do what’s right and what’s needed. \u00a0John Hagel<\/a>,\u00a0co-chairman of Center for the Edge, echoes that trust is necessary for transfer of tacit knowledge, in an age where the flow of information is the competitive advantage. Fortunately, social tools make us more human, transparent and accessible, helping build trust.<\/p>\n

Whether consciously or unconsciously, we make personal and business decisions based on trust daily. \u00a0But what determines whom we trust? How can we create the conditions where trust can flourish? In search of the answer, I asked a few Yammer colleagues and customers what trust meant to them. Here’s what they said:<\/p>\n

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What does trust in the workplace mean to you?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Matt Ontell, Customer Success Manager, Yammer:<\/em> It allows me to focus on my job, without second-guessing what others are doing. Trust helps avoid or eliminate bureaucracy, unnecessary process, and excessive oversight that can both inhibit innovation and slow progress. It is by building trust that organizations can create high performing teams.<\/p>\n

Marco Rogers<\/a>, Senior Software Engineer, Yammer:<\/em> To me, trust means working with a team of people who understand the goals of their company and their roles. Everyone works hard to fill those roles effectively because they know that if everyone is aligned, everyone succeeds. This includes not only knowing your role, but also how it connects to the roles of others. Trust in the workplace boils down internalizing the idea that a company is a team of interconnected people that have to move together to be most effective, rather than islands of individuals jockeying for position.<\/p>\n

Phoebe Venkat<\/a>, Director, Digital and Social Media,\u00a0ADT:<\/em> To me, trust means trusting your colleagues and yourself — to do the right thing for the business, for ourselves, for our communities, etc. I earn trust by being transparent, direct and honest. I also make it a point to take immediate accountability for anything that’s NOT going right — admitting faults and mistakes endears you to others as we all make mistakes and people naturally feel more comfortable about those that aren’t behind a “perfect” facade.<\/p>\n

Miguel Garcia, Customer Success Manager, Yammer<\/em>:\u00a0Trust in the workplace is freedom and encouragement to put your imagination, creativity, and passion to work. Before arriving to Yammer I worked in a lot of places that micromanaged and were never confident in letting employees run with new ideas. They wanted to play it safe and scrutinized everyone wanting to take a path less trodden. At Yammer, I was given a wealth of trust from day one. Being trusted actually makes you more aware and responsible. Relationships with your colleagues become much stronger, as does your dedication to the company.<\/p>\n

Ferdinand Velasco,<\/a> CMIO, Texas Health Resources: <\/em>Trust is critical to ensuring success in an organization. Several useful concepts are presented in Stephen M. R. Covey’s book series. He uses the metaphors of taxes and dividends to describe the result of distrust and trust, respectively. Lack of trust leads to bureaucracy, which is a tax. Organizations with low trust are characterized by “office politics”: withholding information, infighting, hidden agendas, endless meetings, etc. In contrast, the dividends generated by a high trust environment foster effective collaboration and innovation, improve employee engagement and retention, and accelerate the creation of value.<\/p>\n

Daniel Brunt,<\/a> Customer Success Manager, Yammer: <\/em>When an organization’s leadership trusts its employees to collaborate openly with one another, it provides each employee an entrepreneurial position within the organization. This is not just smart business; it also deepens employees’ connections to their individual contributions. The organization benefits significantly as these contributions drive larger initiatives.<\/p>\n

Steve Nguyen<\/a>, Customer Success Manager, Yammer: <\/em> For me, trust is formed through actions. Do you do what you say you’re going to do? Are your actions consistent with the values you’ve communicated are important? If people are able to consistently demonstrate actions that align with the values they’ve committed to, then trust is born.<\/p>\n

How does trusting your teammates help you do your job?<\/strong><\/em><\/h2>\n

Marco Rogers:<\/em> Most important projects take more than one person to accomplish. While the urge is strong to do a lot yourself, trusting your coworkers is about letting go of that urge. Many important tasks require multiple people’s effort, and oftentimes you must rely on other people to accomplish their tasks for you to complete yours. This creates a lot of stress in most workplaces, because you have limited visibility. Sure, hierarchies were created to force compliance, but compliance will only get you so far. Dan Pink highlights autonomy as a key motivator; autonomy is only possible where there is trust.<\/p>\n

For the nonbelievers, Stephen Covey makes a business case for trust:<\/p>\n