The Trust Factor

by David Fernandes

Mumbai, India

‘I trust you. That’s why I am giving you the job’. We were 25% higher in our estimate than our competitor. We had inferior technology by way of plant and machinery compared to the very same competitor. Yet we bagged the job. A lucrative, regular monthly ‘cash in flow’ job as we used to say, at a crunch time when ‘cash’ had to be king.

The quote above is from a conversation that I had with the CEO of a company we were negotiating with. Since I had a very good relationship with him I felt free to say that I was delighted yet intrigued at their decision to give us the contract in spite of the odds being heavily stacked against us.

‘I trust you.’ Trust gave us the job. Trust gave us 25% more. Trust saves time. Trust results in efficiency. Trust builds teams. Trust resolves conflicts. Trust brings peace and joy. Trust makes us fruitful. Trust makes life worth living. And trust makes business sense!

It must be built

Trust does not fall from the sky. It is not something that can be defined on a piece of paper. It belongs to the realm of character and the spirit, and has as much to do with who we are as with what we do. It is painstakingly built over time. It is tested by circumstances. How therefore can trust be built and, if broken, rebuilt?

1. Always be truthful

Not just once but over and over again. It’s a tougher call than one actually imagines. Once I had to intervene in a rather heated situation that arose between the very same CEO and our Customer Services Manager. The CEO told me, ‘Your managers lie.’ My managers also accused their managers of lying. The truth was that both were lying. So we called for a joint meeting of both teams. I had told my managers that it would be best that we openly acknowledge times when we had lied. Defending oneself would not be helpful. The meeting turned out to have a high spiritual quotient! Individuals admitted that they needed to change. Apologies were made – yes, in the corporate world – and there was a lightness at the end of it all. New systems were defined; things worked not just smoothly but with a sense of peace and efficiency like never before. Simple words like ‘the job is on the machine’ took on new meaning; it actually was on the machine!

2. Speak the truth with grace

Truth can sometimes be spoken very harshly and in anger especially when we are in the right. The harshness or anger then becomes the main point at hand and the issue gets clouded or lost. The opposite is equally ineffective. Being gracious can compromise the truth. Be gentle but firm. For example, in the instance given above we had to also tell the customer where we felt they were going wrong.

I personally have made the terrible mistake of dealing with certain people in anger. In fact, I went through a phase when I did not know the value of being gracious and gentle. I got immediate ‘obedience’ and results but lost out on creating trust. People were nice to my face but fearful inside. This began to show in a higher attrition rate.

3. Set things right when you are wrong

Be quick to apologise when you are in the wrong. Humility builds trust. Admit your wrong-doing, whether in your manner of communication or in terms of misreading or misunderstanding an issue, or for having taken a wrong decision. As General Manager of the company, I had dealt unwisely and harshly with one of the workers. I got frenetic calls one Saturday morning informing me that the workers were threatening to go on a strike. Alarmed, I left for the factory a bit tense and concerned. I felt I must deal with the situation honestly. So we gathered the workers and through a translator I apologised for the way I had dealt with the worker concerned. However, I also plainly stated that I would not have workers challenge the authority of the shop floor supervisor, which was the issue at stake. I requested the worker to apologise for his behavior towards the supervisor in front of the whole assembly. Having seen me do it, he readily complied. The workers all clapped and went back to work. Trust had been built that morning and a bond with the workers that lasted for my full tenure.

4. Be quick to forgive

Holding on to grudges or taking revenge shatters trust. If there has been wrong-doing, it needs to be talked through sensitively but thoroughly. Depending on the gravity or seriousness of the situation, the need may arise to take decisions that may change an individual’s portfolio. But this needs to be done in a way that will eventually do the individual good in the long-term. Our relationship with the company cited above would have not survived had they not been gracious enough to forgive us and we them. We have a model in John 21, where Jesus does not sidestep Peter’s denial of him. He talks it through, forgives him and recommissions him to ‘feed his sheep.’

5. Keep your promises

Be careful before making promises to people and devise ways of remembering them. Sometimes they may need to be institutionalised, such as wage agreements etc. But, apart from the big promises, it’s sometimes the small ones that can make or break you in terms of credibility. Repeated breaking of promises may result in a complete breakdown of one’s credibility. For instance, keep appointments! Jesus said, ‘Let your “Yes” be “Yes”, and your “No”, “No” …‘ (Matt. 5:37).

6. Act consistently

One has to match words with actions and vice versa. As General Manager of my company, I remember deliberately using the workers’ toilet every now and then. Once while I was there one of the workers asked if we could set up mirrors in their toilet. I seized it as an opportunity to match actions to stated values, namely that we were a responsive management. I made sure the mirrors were up in a day. Other requests that were not practical, such as building toilets in an old mill building, were explored and jointly agreed that it was not possible to do so at that time. But we got feedback from the union leader that the workers knew we cared.

7. Wear an L-plate

Let’s face it none of us has all the answers. Create a culture where it’s OK to say, ‘I don’t know but I’ll find out.’ In our fast-changing environment there is too much knowledge or information to be grasped. But together we can learn how to learn. This will create an atmosphere of security which breeds trust.

8. Entrust and encourage

Constantly challenge people to go beyond themselves, by affirmative statements and by entrusting individuals with things they have never done before. Speak warm words of genuine encouragement. In general, encourage in public, correct in private.

Are you a builder of trust? It does things for organisations that money, cement and mortar cannot do. As lights of the world we have grace to forgive and the Holy Spirit within, and unlimited opportunities to be trustworthy and to build an atmosphere of trust.