PREFACE
This book is about trust: the power when it exists, the problems when it doesn’t, the pain when it is betrayed and the opportunities for its renewal. Our purpose in writing this book is to help people at all levels of any organization create, support, and, if necessary, rebuild trust in themselves and with others.
This book is about creating more productive, engaging, and rewarding work environments for all, arising from work relationships built on trust, infused with spirit—relationships that inspire leaders and employees alike. The principles, practices, tools, and techniques offered in Trust & Betrayal in the Workplace apply to anyone, in any kind of relationship, at any level of responsibility, and in any kind of setting.
Today, more than ever, there is a need for trust in the workplace. Our processes are growing in complexity, the global market poses increased demands on people, and collaboration is needed like never before. Organizations and people face increasing challenges, some associated with growth and expansion, others with downsizing or restructuring. Change and transition have become commonplace in all organizations. The universal element that never changes is the need for relationships. Why? Because of one simple truth: Business is conducted through relationships and trust is the foundation of effective relationships.
Countless numbers of people in the workplace today are in pain, and many organizations are hurting. After years of constant change— years of downsizing, restructuring, and reengineering, or of mergers and growth—trust among people at every level of organizations is at an all-time low. You may have personally felt the pain of a breach of trust or even a betrayal during the course of your working career. People with whom you work may have misread your intentions when you honestly felt you were acting in the best interests of the organization. You may have been accused of not “walking your talk” or been disappointed when you felt others fell similarly short.
Unmet expectations, disappointments, broken trust, and betrayals aren’t restricted to big events like restructurings and downsizings. They crop up every day on the job. Leaders are beginning to realize that people’s trust and commitment to the organization affect their performance. We use the term leaders in a broad sense, referring to all individuals who demonstrate leadership behaviors at all levels of responsibility.
Trust takes time to develop; it is easy to lose and hard to regain. It is a fragile yet indispensable element in any relationship. By first trusting in themselves, it is possible for leaders to develop caring, genuine relationships and build trust with their people and for employees to develop effective relationships with one another.
WHO SHOULD READ THIS BOOK
This book is designed to help anyone who has the desire to cultivate trusting relationships with the people with whom they work. You may feel that your organization has a fairly healthy level of trust and you want to further build upon it, because you know it will give your organization a competitive edge. You may see signs that tell you trust is vulnerable. The “grape vine” may be in overdrive, relationships may be breaking down, people may not be following through on their commitments, climate survey results may be less than desirable, and people may be leaving the company. Your instincts may be telling you that “something is just not quite right.”
Our focus is on leaders, managers, and the people they serve, who value relationships and want to understand what trust means, how it is built, how it is broken and how it may be rebuilt in order to create effective relationships. For many, building trust—and more importantly rebuilding it—may seem like an overwhelming task. We find that whereas leaders want it, they are just not sure how to go about fostering it. Here we help you, those you serve, and those you turn to for support, such as human resource and organizational development professionals.
We explore behaviors that build trusting relationships, behaviors that contribute to betrayal, and the actions you can take to lead the process of rebuilding and sustaining trust. Trust & Betrayal in the Workplace will help you understand and appreciate the complex dynamics of trust and betrayal. Your understanding of trust will be improved—as will your awareness of betrayal and its consequences. This book serves as a comprehensive reference and practical guide to building trust and honoring relationships between individuals, within teams, and throughout organizations, in good times and in challenging times.
OVERVIEW OF THE BOOK
Understanding the complexity of trust and betrayal is challenging work, as we have learned from firsthand life experience, years of research and work in numerous organizations! The topic of trust is emotionally charged and means different things to different people. The Reina Trust & Betrayal Model provides an understandable framework for this book. We take the abstract and make it concrete; we take the intangible and make it tangible.
We use the model to raise your awareness of the dynamics of trust and betrayal and provide you with a shared understanding and a common language. The model helps you discuss trust-related issues and take action on them in a thoughtful manner to create and maintain healthy levels of trust in your organization. The model is built layer by layer, with figures illustrating the important components that contribute to trust between people, within teams, and throughout organizations.
The book has five parts. Part I, Chapter 1, discusses the need for trust in the workplace. We address its importance: the business need and the human need for trust. The price people and organizations pay when it is low and the payoff when it is high.
In Part II, we introduce the Trust and Betrayal Model, a practical and proven framework for understanding the dynamics of trust and betrayal in workplace relationships. We devote the three chapters in Part II to discussing the three specific types of trust in our model—the trust of character: contractual trust, the trust of disclosure: communication trust, and trust of capability: competence trust. We explore the specific behaviors that build each type of trust and bring life to them through examples and vignettes.
Part III takes us to where trust begins with Chapter 5 exploring our readiness and willingness to trust in ourselves and others, our capacity for trust. Chapter 6 takes us on a deeper exploration of how we trust through the lens of the four Capacity for Trust Attributes.
With trust comes betrayal. Part IV discusses the word “betrayal” and why it is important that we understand it. We look at what causes trust to break down or be betrayed, and what can be done when that happens. Chapter 7, How Trust is Broken, discusses the big things as well as the subtle, day-to-day occurrences that cause people to feel betrayed and the subsequent consequences to individuals, relationships and performance. Chapter 8, How Trust Is Rebuilt, provides steps to rebuild trust and to heal the disappointment or pain of betrayal. Chapter 9, Transformative Trust, examines the four characteristics that create transformative trust: conviction, courage, compassion, and community. We show you how they work, their value, and how you can achieve transformative trust within your team or organization.
Part V is about trust building in the field. Chapter 10 discusses rebuilding trust within teams. Chapter 11 talks about rebuilding trust within organizations. Chapter 12 pulls the book together through peoples’ lived experiences. We tell stories of how people in organizations have used the Trust & Betrayal Model and the principles discussed throughout the book. We provide examples and vignettes that use their voices to tell their true stories.
At the end of each chapter “Trust Building in Action” provides reflective questions to help integrate your understanding of the material discussed. We also give application exercises to help you use the material in your work and relationships. Trust Tips and Trust Notes remind you of key points in each chapter.
DEVELOPMENT OF THIS BOOK
Collectively, we have worked and conducted research with people within organizations for thirty years to understand trust. We originally wrote the first edition of Trust & Betrayal in the Workplace to share what we have learned and to make a contribution to the development of trust in workplace relationships. That purpose holds true today more than ever. Since the publication of the first edition, we have seen the power of trust, the pain of betrayal, the transformation that comes with healing, and the gift of renewal. We have had the privilege of working with leaders who value relationships and who are committed to building and rebuilding trust. We have also been privileged to work with leaders who were initially resistant to our work because they thought it was “too touchy-feely” who, nonetheless, remained open to learning about trust because they thought it was the right thing to do.
This book took root many years ago during our respective doctoral studies. We each studied elements of trust in our dissertations. We learned much about trust and how central it is in relationships and organizations. However, what was not clear is what trust meant and how it was created. We set out on a quest to answer that question. We began interviewing leaders to explore what trust meant to them and the behaviors they felt built it. We learned that it was not possible for people to talk about trust without talking about betrayal. Our quest expanded. To this day, we continue to learn about trust, betrayal, healing, and renewal.
We have conducted research and consulted with over 100 organizations in 19 industries. These have included manufacturing, aerospace, chemical, petroleum, pharmaceuticals, telecommunications, computer and electronics, engineering, utilities industries, accounting, law, finance, hotel and resort management, food service, health care, and higher education. Federal and state government agencies are also among our clients. We have worked with organizations in pain, organizations who are strong and want to be stronger, and with leaders who value relationships and want to honor them. We have interviewed hundreds of organizational leaders, managers, supervisors, human resource and organizational development professionals, and rank-and-file workers in a multitude of functions. We have conducted focus groups with thousands. They all have one significant thing in common: the indiividual and organizational need for trust.
People have opened their hearts to us and shared their experiences. Many expressed relief at being able at last to share thoughts, concerns, and feelings about the types of trusting relationships they desired, but had not felt safe discussing. The stories and quotes in the book come from the actual experiences lived by people and shared with us in our research, consulting, workshops and coaching. The names and locations of individuals and organizations have been changed to maintain anonymity and to protect their trust in us.
As a product of our research, we developed the Reina Trust & Betrayal Model, which is the foundation for this book and our trust building approach. We have designed trust-building processes to support strategic initiatives such as engagement, risk-taking, innovation, collaboration, resilience, speed-to-market, change and transition, and knowledge management. We bring ourselves in service to them and in so doing, continue to learn about trust. What we have learned is shared with you here.
Measuring trust is difficult. Leaders committed to sustaining or transforming their organizations need tools to monitor those efforts. To support that need, we have developed valid and reliable instruments that measure trust at the organizational, team, individual leadership, and consumer levels. These tools help organizations see where they have healthy levels of trust and where they have work to do.
All organizations strive for effectiveness. Yet many are challenged to bring people together to develop all of the components necessary for that effectiveness. Our commitment to the knowledge that trust is one of the most very basic components of organizational effectiveness has led us to develop Trust Building On-Line Community. It provides an on-line forum that overcomes the barriers of time and distance, bringing people together in dialogue to build trust. They have shared their stories with us and with one another and have come away with real insights into building and sustaining trust.
Our interest in trust is passionate. Our professional lives are devoted to supporting the cultivation of trust in relationships all over the world. We believe that all human beings deserve to trust in themselves and to feel safe to trust in others. We wrote this book and continue our work to that end.
Dennis S. Reina
Michelle L. Reina
Stowe, Vermont
July 2005