In the military, trust
is forced upon you. If you’re a soldier at a rendezvous point being
picked up by a helicopter, you have no choice but to place your life in
someone else’s hands. In business, trust has always been a bit harder to
come by. There is a natural desire to control the process and leave as
little to chance as possible.
Today’s networked economy is changing that. More and more organizations now operate in networked situations where ultimate success comes from the collective work of all. Now, as in the military, trust plays a critical role in the success of any organization.
For leaders looking to build trust, there are two key components to focus on: competence and benevolence.
Competence is the idea that every individual in an organization is committed to being a master of his or her craft. As we become more dependent on the work of others, people want to know that everyone is being held to the same high standard as they are. As a leader, it’s your job to instill confidence in your teams that everyone across the org is there because they know what they are doing.
The second piece is benevolence – which is the idea that other team members will solve problems for your best interests in addition to their own. In other words, people want to know their co-workers have their back. For leaders, this means making the ultimate metric for success not individual accomplishment, but instead solving for the greatest good.
Establishing this mindset is key to building trust. Now, instead of top-heavy teams weighed down with reps from every department looking out for their interests, leaders can put together fast and nimble small teams that have the faith of the entire org.
Of all the concepts I’ve discussed, trust is perhaps the hardest to pull off. Yet it is crucial because it underpins all the other concepts we have explored. Once trust is established at an organization, then you can truly have nimble teams moving fast with common purpose, shared consciousness, and with empowered execution – and build innovation at scale across an organization.
Posted by:
HARI SHEKHAAWAT
Today’s networked economy is changing that. More and more organizations now operate in networked situations where ultimate success comes from the collective work of all. Now, as in the military, trust plays a critical role in the success of any organization.
For leaders looking to build trust, there are two key components to focus on: competence and benevolence.
Competence is the idea that every individual in an organization is committed to being a master of his or her craft. As we become more dependent on the work of others, people want to know that everyone is being held to the same high standard as they are. As a leader, it’s your job to instill confidence in your teams that everyone across the org is there because they know what they are doing.
The second piece is benevolence – which is the idea that other team members will solve problems for your best interests in addition to their own. In other words, people want to know their co-workers have their back. For leaders, this means making the ultimate metric for success not individual accomplishment, but instead solving for the greatest good.
Establishing this mindset is key to building trust. Now, instead of top-heavy teams weighed down with reps from every department looking out for their interests, leaders can put together fast and nimble small teams that have the faith of the entire org.
Of all the concepts I’ve discussed, trust is perhaps the hardest to pull off. Yet it is crucial because it underpins all the other concepts we have explored. Once trust is established at an organization, then you can truly have nimble teams moving fast with common purpose, shared consciousness, and with empowered execution – and build innovation at scale across an organization.
Posted by:
HARI SHEKHAAWAT
No comments:
Post a Comment