The credibility of a trust-based culture

Crisis of Trust. Crisis of Authenticity. We are living in a world of crisis. We breathe in a world of “Fake”. We are in a world of uncertainty.

Certainty is in danger. “These are just slogans,” said a team member after coming out of a meeting where his manager had been trying to lift their spirits. “With so much pressure to achieve higher targets, I have to adopt the pushy mode,” said a leader who was under stress.

This is the general corporate sentiment. As the world spins around mistrust, organisations are finding it difficult to stay relevant and authentic. Artificial intelligence (AI) was supposed to speed up efficiency and reduce cost. So far AI is being used more to make something fake assume an almost authentic look. Images look so real but are unreal. Videos look so convincing but are cooked. Statements look so inspiring but are concocted. This has led to a world that is acting and reacting to unauthenticity. You see heated debates, arguments, clashes based on things that have no existence.

In this “artificial” world of not just artificial intelligence but artificial emotions, artificial values, artificial declarations, the need to establish the truth is a dire need. Organisations are facing the financial crunch. Leaders are under pressure to cope with the declining customer demands and the rising company demands. Consumers are sick of “deep-fake ads” and “fake reviews” that flood the social media.

AI has made it so easy and cheap to look and act real that there is a tsunami of unethical practices of companies that have made consumer confidence nosedive. Employees who work in these organisations feel very disturbed by firstly the ethical violations of the company and secondly the consumer revolt against these practices. There is definitely a trust crisis more than ever.

In today’s world where disillusion has reached dangerous limits, gaining employee trust and confidence is hard. Reality is that the harder trust cultures become, the more the companies need to focus on it. It is the ultimate difference between the low- and high-performing companies.

Research from the Center for Neuroeconomics Studies shows that employees in a high-trust work culture are 50% more productive, 106% more energetic, 40% more likely to stay longer, 76% more engaged compared with lower-trust organisations. That is why the present trust crisis is hugely costly. Organisations need to re-examine the credibility quotient of their company. They need to keep their credibility meters and constantly check the CCP i.e. Culture Credibility Pulse.

Most organisations do create the cultural DNA in design. They create core values, circulate them, hang them on walls etc. Those are essential to provide context and direction. However, culture and credibility development is an everyday, every moment job. As the employee pulse beat can change from low to high and vice versa in minutes, so can credibility of the culture. When you proclaim to be an organisation both internal and external customers can trust, it is imperative that the behaviour of the critical mass exhibits them. Some CCP steps that need to be embedded in the DNA of the company are:

CCP No. 1-The promise, the post promise: In times of stress and uncertainty leaders need to connect. There are two types of connects, firstly to people, secondly to purpose. The connection has to be both through times of calm and through times of conflict.

The PR department is definitely needed to create a theme that assures that the management is conveying the right message. The message that the leaders are right there at the back of the employees. That is the promise. This promise is essential to provide hope. What happens afterwards will determine whether this promise unites people or divides them.

The post-promise disconnect is one of the biggest reasons for losing trust and credibility. Leaders need to create opportunities of conversations. Do not wait for the townhalls. Go to them. Use the lunch hour to dine in the general mess. Observe and explain. Use meetings to connect people with the larger picture. Talk about the present issues seeming like a detour but the eventual destination is to the mission and vision. Share the previous times of stress examples. Constantly create the big picture matter more than the present path deviations.

CCP No.2-The leader’s ears, the voice of the masses: The big task in creating real credibility is not just connecting more and communicating more but also learning more. Learning does not come from speaking, it comes from listening. Guess what the single biggest perception of credible change is? Not a change in compensation policies, not a change in financial results, but a change in the leadership style – style that only requires a change from opening your mouth to opening your ears. This small step builds credibility faster than any reward policy. Employees must feel that the leader feels their pain. This means giving an ear to them when they air their pain. This means that change from informing to taking information. This means instead of voicing your own opinion to letting people voice their opinions.

CCP No. 3-The non-negotiables and their demonstration: Trust or any other value that comprises the credibility of the culture creates the impact by two elements i.e. intent and behaviour. Intent is expressed through various communication forums of the company. The company documents its vision, mission and values. They express the company’s desire to have a certain culture. Social media spreads this intent. Leaders talk about it on relevant events. However, they only become trust symbols if the behaviour of people aligns with them. The credibility litmus test is when a senior leader’s behaviour is contrary to the proclaimed values. Does it get penalised? If it does, trust multiplies. If it does not, trust expires.

Consumer confidence and employee confidence are both all-time low. In these times, organisations that can demonstrate that they are authentic, that they have a mission higher than business as usual, will stand out. When rains struck the city of Karachi last year, many factories and offices were flooded. Most companies did provide help to their employees. However, the story that still goes round is of a CEO of a big company. The employees tell me he stayed around the whole night in the factory until the last employee was able to get back to his house. That one single act added more to the credibility than any provision of facilities. When intent is followed by behavior, it changes words into a belief system. Credibility, then becomes your ultimate competitive advantage.