Defining Trust in Mission-Driven Work
As much as we loathe the group-edit… this is a topic that needs the brainpower of the collective. Care to join us in the comments?
Trust is something we value here at The Practice of WE. Indeed, Behavior Alignment within the Relational Framework is mostly about ensuring that one’s actions within the partnership signal trust. It is also something we help clients build, nurture, and repair and - for many - it’s a concept that feels both slippery (we tackle that notion in Counting on Trust) and explosive. Just when we think we have our arms around it…it can swing around and bite us.
We work with leaders who will not use the word trust and so their teams are on the perpetual hunt for terms that get in the same ballpark without offending.
We work with individuals who opt out, claiming the workplace isn’t the arena for trust because, “it’s foolish to behave as though the workplace is anything other than transactional.”
We also work with teams that make trust actionable, observable – a daily practice that is seen, felt, and repaired. A journey that enables quiet, steady commitment to big missions. We are here for that ongoing, messy, day-in and day-out practice of trust.
So, we’re turning comments on for this piece for our paid subscribers and inviting co-creation around defining trust for the workplace. Let’s see what we can do together. We’ll go first.
Rightsizing Trust for the Workplace
Our working definition of trust in the workplace is, “a relationship where we work in service to a shared goal, holding ourselves accountable to consistently behaving in a way that advances our shared goal while caring for individual needs, values and priorities.”
Said another way, workplace trust is…
Consistent behavior that advances a shared goal + Demonstrated care for each person.
Simple but not easy. The sequencing is key to our definition. We’re intentional that advancing the shared goal is in the primary position. So, if I’m working alongside someone and I make a choice that’s more about advancing my career, my ego, my own personal win OVER advancing the objective we’re seeking together, I’m out of alignment with trust.
Why Must We Build Trust in Our Mission-Driven Work?
Before we hop off and make space for other definitions of workplace trust, we’re drawing a line in the sand. Trust is essential in high-performing, mission-driven work. You cannot opt out of trust and be doing your all to advance the work.
»Mission-driven work requires risk taking and bold action. We are less likely to put ourselves out there if we are working alongside someone where failure and missteps may be used against us.
»A-ha moments and novel insights flourish inside conversations where we can ponder the wild ideas, the what-ifs, and what might be possible. Trust is the oxygen for those conversations.
»Learning occurs when we let down our guard. Real learning happens in partnerships where we can engage in the unvarnished post-mortem on a total failure. Course-correction happens when we can share the little sneaking suspicion that we’re on the wrong track. We don’t know about you, but we’re never going to talk about where we think we went wrong in a new program or meeting or design if we don’t believe you will help us seize this learning for the good of our work together.
So, yes, we’re on team trust. Now let’s build a definition together that works for mission-driven work. Have at it!