Why is Trust so important for engagement?

Often, without realising it, or at least without labelling it, trust forms a key component in how engaged we are. And this applies to most things we do - for work and for play. If we trust the person we are working with we perform better, enjoy ourselves more and allow ourselves to be pushed further - whether this is working with someone on a large project or goal, or it is becoming the best Tennis player you can be. Why is that? And why is trust something that we must fight for, especially in the aftermath of Covid-19?

According to a recent article in Harvard Business Review, 'employees in high-trust organizations are more productive, have more energy at work, collaborate better with their colleagues, and stay with their employers longer than people working at low-trust companies. They also suffer less chronic stress and are happier with their lives, and these factors fuel stronger performance.'

Research done by Paul J. Zak, founding director of the Center for Neuroeconomics Studies and a professor of economics, psychology, and management at Claremont Graduate University, has identified key elements that high trust organisations do differently and how these have a huge effect on making a workplace a better and more engaging place to work.

These elements include things like recognising excellence, providing difficult but achievable challenges for the team as a whole, giving them autonomy, including allowing them some freedom in what projects they choose and sharing information widely. Other elements focus around the importance of taking notice of the individual in front of you - it is about intentionally building social networks (i.e. friends) at work, being concerned about someone's personal and professional development, wellbeing and growth and finally, showing vulnerability as a leader. All these elements allow for teams to trust their peers and leaders because they not only feel like they are being valued for their expertise and input, but also as a person. This in turn makes them feel more empowered and engaged.

So why does that matter for lockdown and working remotely? I think many organisations have been on a relatively steep learning curve over these past few weeks in terms of truly having to 'let go' and trust their teams. They have gone much further than they normally would have in terms of enabling their staff and letting them get on with deadlines and delivering work in isolation. Feeling trusted, empowered and valued, is of course hugely important to be able to work effectively. And this has been even more important, as lots of employees have been under huge pressure, as colleagues have been furloughed, or made redundant, or whole work protocols have had to be changed virtually overnight. Colleagues in the NHS talk about how much less red tape (and more autonomy and trust) there has been and how teams have come together to deliver what it takes under exceptional circumstances.

In many ways though, I wonder whether this new found sense of trust and enablement is precariously fragile and we will all need to work hard to sustain it. With some teams slowly starting to plan for a gradual return to work, will leaders and colleagues alike simply slip back into old habits? In fact, will we first have to go through a period where trust actually become harder to come by, as organisations face potential financial problems and all the turmoil this brings with endless restructures, change programmes and efficiency measures?

If you have been lucky and experienced a greater sense of trust and empowerment at work during lockdown - both from colleagues and leaders - how will you maintain this? What are the things that we can all do to support each other and keep both our new sense of trust and empowerment alive? Because if we can do this, it will mean our teams and organisations remain more engaged and productive - and this will be a key to more swift economic recovery. The UK recognised this back in 2008, as part of the last economic downturn, when Nita Clarke and David McLeod resulted in founding the Engage for Success Movement that has since become a huge national movement spanning sectors and professions alike. Through their report, Engage for Success, they were able to demonstrate how a wider take up of engagement approaches could impact positively on UK competitiveness and performance, as part of the country’s efforts to come through its economic difficulties and meet the challenges of increased global competition.

I believe the same will be true for this downturn and over the coming weeks I will be collecting insights and ideas from teams across the UK to understand what they will be doing to keep up their new found sense of trust and empowerment. I will publish what I find in my blog for you to try with your teams :-)

In the meantime, if you want to add your thoughts, I would love to hear from you!