{"id":2216,"date":"2012-06-22T06:37:54","date_gmt":"2012-06-22T12:37:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/corevalues.com\/?p=2216"},"modified":"2012-06-22T06:37:54","modified_gmt":"2012-06-22T12:37:54","slug":"how-to-build-trust-to-drive-business-results","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/corevalues.com\/dev\/2012\/06\/22\/how-to-build-trust-to-drive-business-results\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Build Trust That Drives Business Results"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>How do you build trust to drive business results? The answer is with leadership transparency, will, collaboration and success.<\/p>\n

\u00a0In the 2012 TIGERS Success Series survey<\/a>, we asked over 2300 HR representatives in 101 countries what the biggest team hurdels they face is. Trust came up consistently as an\u00a0 issue.<\/p>\n

Another leadership development company has also released recent research results entitled Building Trust in Business in 2012. This report on trust and leadership outlines some critical advice for building trust for driving business results.<\/p>\n

According to the report by Interaction Associations,\u00a0\u00a0\u201cShared responsibility for success is a key characteristic of high trust organizations \u2013 meaning employees are committed to a common goal and are eager to collaborate to make it happen\u201d<\/p>\n

The findings also suggest that even in the\u00a0struggling economy in the United States, companies that take\u00a0action now to build and fortify trust will do\u00a0much better<\/a>\u00a0during the recovery than organizations that do not. Of the 300 companies included in the survey, 440 leaders weighed in to determin if there was an intersections of\u00a0trust, leadership, and collaboration.<\/p>\n

The Results<\/strong><\/p>\n

There have been huge declines in trust over the past four years. The Building Trust 2012 survey points to big declines in leadership and trust across the business spectrum \u2013 with trust at its lowest level since Interaction Associates began surveying the issue in 2009.<\/p>\n

For 2012, trust takes the biggest hit on the question of whether leaders are consistent, predictable, and transparent in decisions and actions. In 2012, only 23% of respondents said that their companies’ leadership is consistent, predictable and transparent, compared with nearly 40% in 2009.<\/p>\n

The 2012 results show a clear, explicit connection between companies that achieve strong business results and high ratings in trust, leadership, and collaboration.<\/a> Additionally, leaders of high performing companies are more focused on employee involvement \u2013 including the notion of shared responsibility for success as a key driver of business results.<\/p>\n

In companies that are performing well in the areas of revenue and growth, employees are 12% more likely to recognize how their tasks are linked to the organization\u2019s overall objectives than are employees in less successful companies. And these higher-performing companies are 13% more likely to provide a collaborative environment founded on shared responsibility for success.<\/p>\n

\u201cTrust is at rock bottom, but if leaders want to drive trust levels higher, we say: focus on openness, transparency, and involving employees,\u201d said Linda Stewart, CEO of Interaction Associates. \u201cShared responsibility for success is a key characteristic of high trust organizations \u2013 meaning employees are committed to a common goal and are eager to collaborate to make it happen,\u201d<\/p>\n

Comparing High Performing & Low Performing Companies Building Trust in Business 2012 distinguishes between high performing and low performing companies. Survey respondents who stated their company\u2019s net profit grew more than 5% over the previous year were classified as working for High Performing Organizations (HPO\u2019s). Companies with profit growth below 5% were classified as Low Performing Organizations (LPO\u2019s).<\/p>\n

Respondents\u2019 self-reporting along those definitions were verified independently by analyzing public information on each company. Leaders Build More Trust at High Performing Companies. \u00a0High Performing Organizations are more successful at building trust, their leaders are seen as more collaborative, and they\u2019re much better at retaining key employees.<\/p>\n

Compared with LPO\u2019s, 14% more survey respondents from HPO\u2019s agreed that employees have high trust in management and 15% more see their leaders as effective. \u201cIn other words, at high performing companies, leaders are trusted, they\u2019re known for leadership transparency \u2014 and they involve their people in decision-making,\u201d said Linda Stewart.<\/p>\n

More Insights<\/strong><\/p>\n

Additional Insights Linked to Financial Success Building Trust 2012 details other patterns around trust, leadership, and collaboration — characteristics that are strongly correlated with financial success. Examples include:<\/p>\n