What is trust?
Have you ever thought why you don't trust someone at work? Often its just a feeling of uncertainty about something they said or did - a feeling that makes us nervous about putting our faith in them. Of course if they are caught steeling or engaging in other criminal activities where there is hard evidence then your faith is understandably challenged but most of the time it is just a feeling. In this blog I'd like to give some examples of what we sometimes refer to as personality clashes which can have a significant impact on our ability to trust someone.
The highlighted words in the article refer to behavioural preferences - more information can be found about these by completing the profiler on our website at http://www.quadrant1.com/Resources/meta-programmes
CEO of International Pharmaceutical Company
CEO's are paid to have the vision to see an opportunity, the courage to make a decision and to execute. Sometimes they appear to do this at an exceptional speed. In this example the CEO was very quick at seeing developmental and cost saving opportunities for his company but became increasingly frustrated at his CFO who would put a halt to any major financial initiatives. He simply didn't trust the CEO to do his homework.Â
The clash - high levels of procedure, thinking and internal reference, considering on the part of the CFO prevented him from trusting the fast options, doing, feeling patterns of the CEO. Â
CEO of National Charity
A similar scenario occurred with another CEO - this time with a national charity. The fast thinking, visionary approach of the CEO who had the ability to spot funding opportunities, act and execute quickly was alien to a project leader who preferred to analyse, assess and consider before taking action. The result in this case was a complaint against the CEO by the Project Leader because she just didn't 'trust' him.
IT Specialist
Bob was asked by his CEO to undertake a complex new project. He was chosen because of his level of expertise in this area. Bob listened intently to the briefing given by his CEO. When asked about the experience in a coaching session later, Bob revealed that he felt 'insulted'. The CEO had not given him enough detail around what was required leaving Bob feeling uncomfortable and unable to trust his CEO's decision approach. Â
CEO of large Gas Corporation
Geoff was very people focused.  When he asked the Sales Director how the sales team were doing he received a spread sheet full of targets and achievements from his information focused Sales Director. The CEO was more interested in morale, development and general well being. The result - the CEO had reservations about whether or not the Sales Director was taking care of his staff.
Learning and Development Manager
The Learning and Development Manager of a large retail chain had both a focus on people and an in time pattern. Combined these patterns resulted in him paying little attention to his calendar whilst he dealt with people's issues as they arose. The perception from those around him was that he couldn't be trusted to meet deadlines.
Whether or not we trust someone is often based on the perception we have of their behaviour - it has nothing to do with dishonesty and as such can be managed effectively with a little awareness of both self and others. A good starting point is the concept of metaprogrammes. A simple profiler can be found on our website or feel free to call me for more information - 0870 762 1300.
