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CHAPTER
9

HOW TRUST IS SUSTAINED: TRANSFORMATIVE TRUST

How do individuals and organizations sustain and increase trust over time, even during change, disappointments, and uncertainty? What does it take to develop a good working relationship into a great one? What does it take to transform our relationships and the organizations in which we work?

CREATING SUSTAINABLE TRUST

When we consciously and consistently practice the behaviors that contribute to the three types of transactional trust, and when we practice the Seven Steps for Healing after trust has been broken in our relationships, we create the conditions that cultivate transformative trust. That is, the amount of trust reaches a critical point and increases exponentially. It becomes self-generating and synergistic. Trust is integrated into the way people interact and do business every day. People’s interactions with one another produce more trust than there was originally invested in their relationships. An organization’s ethical actions in dealing with difficult situations earn more trust (and good will) than the leaders could imagine (or than money could buy)!

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Trust is the foundation of an organization’s culture; without it we struggle to maintain effective relationships, align on a common vision, and achieve goals and objectives. When trust is low and distrust becomes the norm, relationships are de-energized, morale suffers, and strategies and interventions to improve performance and bottom-line results are diminished. In contrast, when trust is high, relationships are energized, and organizations function at optimum performance. The presence of transformative trust does not mean that betrayal does not occur. There will always be disappointment, letdowns, and betrayals. They come with the territory of relationships. However, the presence of transformative trust means that the organizational culture and its people are committed to practicing transactional trust. They minimize betrayals and practice the Seven Steps for Healing when betrayals do occur. They make a conscious choice to work through betrayals, treating them as an opportunity to strengthen interpersonal relationships and organizational effectiveness and efficiency.

Trust is both the adhesive that holds organizational relationships together and the oil that lubricates its performance. Although of course trust building and healing are important during stable times, they are critical during times of change, as illustrated in this story.

Faced with a strategic business decision handed down from corporate headquarters, the Smith Company, a division of a Fortune 100 company, had to lay off 100 people from its 420-person operation in a one-company town in rural America. It was a decision in which local leadership was not involved. This was the first of this type of change ever in the ten-year history of the division.

Although the local managers were not involved in the initial decision to reduce the division’s workforce, they were fully responsible for implementing the change. They were committed to doing so in a way that honored their people, all that the departing employees had offered the organization, and the relationships that had been formed. They carefully orchestrated each phase of the downsizing process.

These leaders were sensitive to their employees’ needs and acknowledged the impact of this change on their lives, both for those who were leaving as well as for those remaining. “We know this is affecting your lives dramatically,” the division manager said, holding back tears, but allowing himself to express his emotions. To ensure that people remained fully informed, top management set up open lines of communication and held special meetings and forums every step of the way to make sure everyone heard the same message at the same time, in person, and had a safe place to talk.

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Management worked diligently to assist the employees, whether they were directly and indirectly affected. The managers set up career counseling and outplacement centers, visited with management in other organizations to explore job opportunities for those leaving, and invited companies into the plant to meet with job candidates. Venues were established to support those remaining behind. Skilled facilitators helped address transitional needs and set up closure meetings for employees to say good-bye to those who were leaving.

Within five months, management made sure that all the displaced employees who wanted to continue to work were placed in new jobs, inside or outside the corporation. They held open discussions with those remaining in which the impact of the changes on them were explored. They clarified new sets of expectations and boundaries. Working with the employees, management formed agreements regarding new processes and relationships, and established channels of communication and information sharing, and provided training to teach new skills.

Throughout this traumatic time in Smith Company’s history, the behaviors of the leaders of the organization cultivated transformative trust. Their conviction to honor their role as leaders, their courage to tell the “hard” truth at all times, their compassion in remaining sensitive to the impact of the change on people’s lives, and their awareness of the organizational community made a difference. Leaders were able to cultivate trust in an adverse situation because they demonstrated awareness and caring about the people in their organization and how they were affected by this experience.

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As we have discussed, trust starts as a transaction: “You have to give it to get it.” Yet when relationships are honored and the behaviors of transactional trust are consciously practiced consistently, the level of trust reaches a critical point. It experiences a multiplier effect whereby we receive more than we originally gave. Every time trust is offered, greater trust is returned. Trust between people takes on a dynamic energy and force of its own. We feel good about our relationships and are excited about our work and our colleagues on the job. We feel believed in and therefore believe in what we are doing. We feel acknowledged and respected. As a result, we show up for work alert and excited, knowing that what we do makes a difference.

Victor walked over to Patrice and knew the news was not going to be well received. She had already emphasized that she needed the lab report by this afternoon. The problem was that the equipment had failed (again), and Victor knew it was going to take many hours before he could complete the required tests.

Patrice listened as Victor outlined the issues and waited until he finished before she spoke. “Victor, thanks for alerting me. Let’s focus on what can be done to get this work completed on time. Did you know that the biochemistry department at another hospital in our Area Health Service region just purchased a new machine? Let’s call them to see whether they can help out.”

Victor felt huge relief and was also pleased he had discussed this with Patrice before the deadline arrived—which was his usual practice. Patrice smiled. Victor had certainly started to practice the behaviors that had been promoted at the last team meeting, namely to remember to “renegotiate directly with the requestor” when one cannot honor a commitment.

In work environments where transformative trust unfolds, we learn to communicate effectively with one another, even if we are relaying bad news. We take responsibility to keep our agreements or renegotiate if we cannot. We learn to manage our assumptions and fears and our need to protect our positions and expertise. We become more willing to trust in relationships between individuals, within teams, and across the organization.

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Just as betrayal decreases our capacity for trust by striking at the very core of our being in a painful way, transformative trust increases our capacity for trust by speaking to that same core of our humanness in a nurturing way. Betrayal and distrust come from a place of deprivation or scarcity, whereas transformative trust comes from a place of abundance.

Transformative trust in organizations is the hope and vision of the future as today’s leaders raise the level of awareness among themselves and their people regarding behaviors that develop trust, those that destroy it, and the choices they make to rebuild it. In doing so, people honor, respect, nurture, and trust workplace relationships.

This is not easy work. Together, we are partners in the process of learning and discovering more about the complex dynamic that is transformative trust. In this chapter, we explore what this means to leaders and employees alike every day on the job. We further explore how we can bring ourselves to our work and to one another to make a difference.

THE FOUR CORE CHARACTERISTICS OF TRANSFORMATIVE TRUST

How does transformative trust happen at the level of interpersonal relationships? How does it happen at the organizational level?

When we express conviction, exemplify courage, extend compassion, and embody a sense of community in our relationships with our leaders and coworkers, we experience profound results: our relationships and organizations transform! Although the development of transformative trust is simple to discuss, it takes work to create it. As we’ve noted, consciously practicing the behaviors of transactional trust and the Seven Steps for Healing gives rise to transformative trust. Likewise, the characteristics of transformative trust support the practice of the transactional trust and healing behaviors. They work hand in hand.

We use the metaphor of a spiral to understand the interplay of transactional trust, the Seven Steps for Healing, and transformative trust. (Please refer to the Seven Steps for Healing figure in Chapter 8.) The spiral represents the upward and downward movement of relationship. When there is a conscious practicing of transactional trust and the Seven Steps for Healing, the spiral moves upward, representing the generating of trust. Relationships are energized, and people are productive. When there is a failure to practice transactional trust behaviors, a breakdown of trust and a failure to work through betrayals result, and the spiral moves downward. Relationships are de-energized and results compromised.

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Sustainable trust building takes an intention and commitment to be aware of ourselves and others: intention in the way we integrate trust-building strategies and practices into how our organization does business; commitment in how we consciously and consistently practice the behaviors of transactional trust that affect the business drivers of our organization.

As a colleague pointed out, “Building trust is more than just showing up. It is showing up as a total, whole self.” Our role as leaders gives us an opportunity to create transformative trust in our organizations. This level of trust cannot be mandated; it must be invited. It is not created instantly; it takes time to develop and mature. We have found that four core characteristics are present when the level of trust in relationships and organizations is raised to transformative trust; we call them the four C’s: they are conviction, courage, compassion, and community.

In the high-pressure world of most organizations, creating transformative trust requires leaders and employees alike to demonstrate and support the core characteristics of transformative trust.

It takes the four C’s to move individuals, teams, and organizations out of betrayal and toward a trusting workplace environment. It takes conviction to acknowledge the truth about dynamics people have experienced. It takes courage to honor relationships when the going gets tough and we are truly challenged. It takes compassion to forgive ourselves and others for mistakes and transgressions. It takes a sense of community to reframe painful situations and take responsibility to help us understand what we have experienced, draw on it in constructive ways, let go, and move on.

It takes the four C’s of transformative trust to practice the behaviors of transactional trust (contractual, communication, and competence trust) day in and day out. When we trust in ourselves, listen to our hearts, and act out of the goodness of our souls, we are being true to ourselves. When we speak and act with conviction, courage, compassion, and community, we help others heal, and we help ourselves heal. What results is powerful! Transactional trust—working with the four C’s—increases people’s capacity for trust, nurtures healing, and transforms the quality of relationships.

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Conviction

The strength of our convictions starts with self-awareness. When we are not working from our convictions, we are betraying ourselves. Our convictions stem from our awareness of our higher purpose and of what is most meaningful to us. Through our convictions, we come to know the things we will “go to the wall” for. That is where our conviction resides. When we are true to ourselves and have passion and conviction in what we believe, people concur in what we are saying and trust us. They trust that we are guided by our convictions and are committed to making those convictions a reality. Being clear in our convictions builds trust with others and strengthens our capacity for trust in ourselves.

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Awareness of and trust in oneself are the greatest assets a leader can have, especially in times of change. Yet when we stray from our convictions, our personal truths, we betray ourselves and others. When we don’t listen to our own voice, trust our instincts, and live by our convictions, we break our spirits and diminish our capacity for trust.

The people we work with and lead are affected by how we live our convictions. It takes conviction to give relationships a chance, to keep agreements and follow through on them or to renegotiate when we are honestly unable to meet them. It takes conviction to be consistent in our behavior and to be in harmony with our personal values as well as the organization’s. It takes conviction to speak up and confront behavior that we know undermines trust in our relationships. And it takes conviction to say “I’m sorry” when we have hurt another.

When we are authentic in our words and actions, we live by our convictions. Unfortunately, in many work environments, authenticity is punished. So what happens? We go underground with the truth, become inauthentic in our words and actions—we betray ourselves. Trust in ourselves and in others diminishes.

Living by our convictions every day is hard work. It takes discipline, focus, energy, and effort. Yet it is through daily discipline that we achieve confidence and competence and expand our capacity for trust.

When we are clear about our convictions, we are in a position to help others arrive at the same level of clarity within themselves and become empowered. The result is an expanded capacity for trust in self and others.

Courage

Courage comes from the French word coeur, which means “heart.” Sometimes it takes courage to trust our hearts and to do what we know is right.¹ We must be willing to take action in tough situations in spite of the potential consequences.

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It takes courage to let go of the need for control and delegate greater responsibilities to our employees—responsibilities that we enjoy and take pride and pleasure in doing and for which we remain accountable. But to help employees learn and grow, we know we must demonstrate our trust in their competence. In so doing, we help them find the courage to trust in themselves.

It takes courage to be true to our values: to speak up and point out a betrayal resulting from the organization’s not practicing its values, to point out lapses of integrity and to take the lead in correcting them, or to see how we may have betrayed others and to take responsibility even though we did not intend to let them down. It takes courage to step into the process of healing, to feel our feelings, to consider our part, and to find the compassion to forgive.

It takes courage to tell the truth in the face of adversity and not put a spin on it: to tell employees that things are tough, that the company just lost a major portion of its business to an offshore operation and may have to lay people off, some of whom have been working at the plant most of their adult lives, or that the company has just been sold to a larger firm and will undergo major restructuring. It takes courage to speak from the heart, to share that this is a painful time for us as individuals and as members of the organization, that we deeply care about our people and don’t want to let them down, yet we just don’t know what will happen.

Leaders have a rich opportunity to provide a deeper understanding of relationships at work, to recognize betrayal and participate in the renewal of trust with their people. It takes courage to recognize betrayal and to take the first step to heal broken trust and mend relationships.

Betrayal can be a gift and a teacher if we allow ourselves to receive it and embrace the learning it offers. It takes courage to work through the pain and to gain the benefit of betrayal.

Compassion

Do employees know we care about them? As leaders attempting to navigate change in our organizations, do we have the compassion to acknowledge the uncertainty, confusion, vulnerability, and pain that we feel and that our employees must feel? Do we remain sensitive to how our actions affect others? Do we give the benefit of the doubt when seeing disturbing behavior? This level of relating produces the very type of climate organizations are attempting to create: one that is flexible, adaptable, and trusting.

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If a sense of compassion pervades the organization, the level of trust between people is so strong that they no longer rely on the traditional ways of conducting business. For instance, they are not as inclined to rely on a formal contract. “In fact, operating strictly by the contract impedes performance,” the division manager of a telecommunications company noted. Compassion gives us awareness and understanding of others. This awareness enhances our capacity for trust and that of the organization. Relationships are strengthened.

When compassion exists, we feel safe to talk honestly. There is a freer exchange of feedback with the intent of helping one another develop. It takes compassion to receive feedback in a constructive way— to appreciate the intentions of the other party, to listen actively, to put our defenses aside in an effort to take in and understand what is being offered.

It takes compassion particularly when we have been hurt and are being asked to forgive the one who hurt us. When we are able to look beyond our own pain and stop blaming others for their shortcomings, we release energy in a way that opens the door to forgiveness.² We become lighter. Trust begins to grow; our relationships are energized.

The authors used to think that forgiveness was about giving the other person a break. We have learned it is more about freeing ourselves from the burden of distrust, freeing the energy within ourselves from blame and from holding on to the notion that someone else is responsible for the bad things that happen to us.

The act of forgiveness which is an act of compassion is an act of creation in itself. It is the process of letting go that frees up our energy for more productive purposes. Forgiveness permits the rebuilding of trust to begin. In this sense, trust is an act of creation. By making the first move to rebuild a relationship, by extending trust, we create trust. By being willing to forgive others who have broken trust with us, we begin to rebuild relationships. We are not talking about naively forgiving or granting blind trust here. We may forgive the person, but we won’t forget the behavior that broke the trust.

At the transformative level of trust, we have compassion for our coworkers when we are able to walk in their shoes. We recognize that we and they are human. We consider that at any moment in time, people are probably doing the absolute best they can do, even if we sense that we might have done it better. And, under different circumstances, they might have done better themselves. Compassion understands that given the opportunity, people want to contribute and make a difference.

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Community

Where there is transformative trust, people see that they are part of a larger whole. They see the underlying meaning in what they do and their contribution to the larger system. At the transformative level of trust, relationships align people and provide a sense of community.

When we feel connected through a foundation of trust, we automatically cooperate with one another. We take responsibility and honor our agreements in the spirit of relationship. We feel secure counting on one another to get the job done. Through our connection with one another, we shift our focus of operation from I to we. Trust grows; relationships are energized.

At the transformative level of trust, the workplace community promotes openness and honesty. We feel safe to discuss deeper issues of interest and matters of importance to us. We willingly admit mistakes and mention errors to be corrected because we know that not doing so would be a betrayal of our community. We feel free to ask for help without fear of looking incompetent in the eyes of others. In our connection to our workplace community, we recognize and act on the opportunity to give and take, learn and teach, help and be helped.

At the transformative level of trust, we invest in our community. We know that the only way to achieve the organization’s objectives is through the collective knowledge and experience of the community—people working together in relationship.

RENEWAL OF TRUST

We seek to create work environments where we can use our skills and abilities in fulfilling our potential while also pursuing the organization’s business objectives. These are conditions where we can thrive. The behaviors of Transactional Trust, the Seven Steps for Healing, and Transformative Trust are integrated. People experience a renewal of trust that enables them to unleash their vast creative and productive energies for the good of the organization. When people experience such a renewal, they are in a stronger position to bounce back from traumas and can more readily deal with constant change and challenging times—together. The foundation of trust becomes the constant (see Figure 7).

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PEOPLE WANT TRUST IN THEIR RELATIONSHIPS

We do not know what the future holds for our organization; we can only anticipate the challenges we face and do our best to prepare for them. We do know, however, that regardless of what the future holds, it will take people to make it happen. And people, regardless of where they work or what they do, want very much the same thing: trust in their relationships.

Are we willing to be catalysts for transforming the quality of relationships between leaders and employees, among teams, and across departments in our organizations? Are we willing to establish work environments where people are excited about what they are doing and the people with whom they are working? Are we willing to create organizational communities where people have an opportunity to express who they are and to be fully present at work? Are we up for the challenge? These are the possibilities for leaders, employees, and organizations embracing the four C’s of transformative trust.

We have the opportunity to develop trust at work, but it isn’t easy. However, the Reina Trust & Betrayal Model serves as a framework with which to begin. By trusting in ourselves and choosing to trust in others, we embrace the journey.

TRUST BUILDING IN ACTION

Reflecting on Your Experience

Think about the four core characteristics of transformative trust and the people with whom you work. How would practicing those behaviors transform your relationships and your organization?

Individually reflect on the following questions and record your answers to discuss later with your teammates.

1. At work, where do you see conviction expressed?
2. What behaviors on the job exemplify courage?
3. How do you and your coworkers extend compassion to one another on the job?
4. At work, where do you see a sense of community being embodied?

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Application Exercise

Draw the template of transformative trust characteristics on flipchart paper on the wall (see diagram). Have team members post their insights and observations regarding the preceding questions under each core characteristic as they relate to the team or organization. Then do a “gallery walk” of the characteristics of transformative trust.

1. Ask your team, “What story does this tell us about us?” What key insights emerge?
2. Discuss with your team key observations and insights. Identify the team’s critical issues and areas of vulnerability.

Conviction	Courage	Compassion	Community

Trust Note

Practicing the transactional trust behaviors gives rise to transformative trust. Likewise, the characteristics of transformative trust support practicing the transactional trust behaviors. They work hand in hand.