CHAPTER TWO

STEP 2:
ELIMINATE DIGITAL DISTRUST

DIGITAL DISTRUST AND WHY IT HAPPENS

How much do you trust in your ability to do your work? Would you give a 100 percent guarantee to your team and your customers that you would be at your very best every day, no matter what? Business management theory, and simple common sense, would say that as hard as people try to be at their best, being at their very best all the time isn’t possible. No one would have the gall to make such a guarantee.

But one company did, and it caught the attention of Christopher Hart, who wrote about it in Harvard Business Review in 1988. In the article, he describes the huge success “Bugs” Burger Bug Killers (BBBK)—a Miami-based pest-extermination company now owned by S. C. Johnson & Son—had with a service guarantee. BBBK promised hotels that it would eliminate all their pests, and they didn’t have to pay for the service until they were sure the pests were gone. Then BBBK went further: if hotel guests found a pest after BBBK performed its services, the company would write the guests a letter taking full responsibility and pay for their dinners and their rooms or a future stay. BBBK then went even one step further. If one of the company’s hotel clients was closed down due to pests after its services, BBBK would pay all fines and give the client $5,000. Because of this service guarantee, BBBK—which is still in business today, 32 years after the article was written—charges the highest fees in its business for its services, has a huge share of the market, and has made a substantial profit.

The author of the article states BBBK’s “service quality is so outstanding that the company rarely needs to make good on its guarantee. In 1986 it paid out only $120,000 on sales of $33 million—just enough to prove that its promises aren’t empty ones.”¹ The owner and founder of BBBK, Mr. Burger (his son now owns the business), built trust not only with his customers but with his employees and within his community. Mr. Burger invested his profits back into his team based on their tenure, and he did outstanding volunteer work in his community. He built trust capital and in doing so enabled his business, employees, and community to flourish. Trust capital is like savings in a bank: it builds up over time, and if you make a mistake, you have a higher chance of being forgiven.

Trust is a profitable endeavor, but the challenge today is building trust with digital. Digital communication and media are to trust what oil is to water—digital communication sinks trust, just as oil sinks water. Trust is believing in the reliability of the information provided. According to a global study conducted by Ernst & Young in 2018, “less than half of global professionals trust their employer, boss or team/colleagues,”² and without trust, we cannot be engaged or productive. The cure to this problem is to build trust though clear messaging that aligns with how each generation trusts digitally, because when you build trust, you increase performance.

In my first business, one of my partners was an honorably discharged Navy SEAL. His mantra was “high-quality performance results in high profit.” He would drill into my head that trusted communication is the foundation for teams, businesses, and innovation. He explained that when he was in action with his SEAL team, he had to trust in orders; trust that every member of the team was going to do what they were ordered to do; and trust that each team member had each other’s back. He explained that during missions, he often couldn’t see where he was going or what was coming, but he could hear his team members giving him directions through his headphones. He had to trust the words he was hearing to get the job done. He also had to trust that his people would do the right thing if the wrong thing happened.

Both the SEALs and BBBK understand that trust is the key to great performance, and the experts agree. According to the article “The Connection between Employee Trust and Financial Performance,” Stephen M. R. Covey and Douglas R. Conant believe that trust is paramount to good business. They explain that there is a very strong connection between trust and financial performance. Your ability to build trust has a profound effect on business results because trust affects two measurable outcomes: speed and cost. When trust goes down (in a relationship, on a team, in an organization, or with a partner or customer), speed goes down and cost goes up.³

We know that teams fail if the team members don’t trust each other, so the big question is, how do you build that trust? If we go back in time, we will see that we have faced this issue of trust and technology before. Let’s explore that history and meet Chester Barnard.

TRUST AND PRODUCTIVITY

Chester Barnard understood that trust increased productivity both internally and externally. He was president of Bell Telephone in the 1930s, and he realized that his people were focusing too much on the task of making sales and not enough on helping customers trust the new technology the company was selling. At that time, Barnard and his team were selling a new technology called the telephone, but people were afraid it would be a time-waster in the workplace. People have always hated change, and executives would come up with excuses not to buy the telephone.

After graduating from Harvard, Barnard got a job as a statistical clerk at the American Telephone and Telegraph Company, now AT&T, in Boston, and he stayed there for most of his career. Eventually, he became the president of the New Jersey Bell Telephone Company, part of AT&T. As president, his first priority was to get his employees to trust him and his new model of management, called the acceptance theory of authority. Barnard and other researchers—including Elton Mayo, Douglas McGregor, Edward Deming, and eventually the great management guru Peter Drucker—believed the exact opposite of what previous executives and academics believed about management theory. These acceptance theorists, including Barnard, believed it was important for employees to trust leadership. Previous management styles didn’t consider employee trust—employees were paid to work, not to trust.

Barnard believed that employees considered the validity of a leader’s orders and then decided consciously whether to accept them or not. A directive was accepted by the employees if they understood it, were able to follow it, and believed it related to their goals and their understanding of the organization’s goals. In management theory, this time is considered the beginning of the human transitional era of management. Workers became valuable assets rather than a drag on profit and loss statements. Leaders of this era believed in what Kurt Lewin found in his research in 1939: behavior is a function of people and the environment.⁴ Trust in messaging is key to a productive culture. To develop trust with a still shell-shocked generation of workers, sell phones, and create success for his clients and his company, Barnard created the first “cool” workplace.

Barnard let his employees operate in a mode that helped them be productive and creative. He built trust through clear communication that demonstrated he didn’t just talk the talk but also walked the walk. For example, in 1933, at the height of the Great Depression, Barnard announced a no-layoff policy—a major achievement even within the Bell System—choosing to reduce employees’ working hours instead.⁵

People tested him. They rode unicycles down the office corridors—yet his messaging never varied. He encouraged them to be themselves. His memos didn’t talk about him; they talked about the people who worked for him and the changes they could manifest. Eventually, he talked about how to build the same sense of trust with clients. All of this was unheard of in the 1930s. His was a Google workplace before Google. He reduced people’s lack of trust by shifting his communication to meet their needs. He didn’t say, “I will fire you if you don’t meet my goals.” When business was bad, he didn’t threaten people, and he didn’t take away all of their jobs’ perks. When he had to take away some perks, he explained why. He was transparent and clear.

Chester Barnard believed you can only lead when people can understand what you say, follow it, and believe it will help them and the organization. That’s a really, really important point because it has become the definition of digital trust. People can only communicate clearly and accurately through digital technology when they have the ability to understand the message you are sending them, no matter the technical medium. They must then believe that if they act upon your messaging, or respond to you, what they do, or will be doing, will help them get their job, project, or goals accomplished, which will in turn help the team or organization.

Rarely does leadership’s digital communication meet these criteria. Leaders often assume people know what is in it for themselves and the organization. Yet quite the contrary is true. As research from the UK’s Crowe Associates Ltd.,⁶ Harvard Business Review,⁷ and many other sources proves, people do not trust leaders. If you do not convey a message in a way your people can understand it and then follow through on it to achieve their goals, they will not trust either you or your message. Barnard realized that to get his people to sell, innovate, and manage clients, they could not be afraid of losing their jobs or their perceived power. He also realized different team members needed different cues to align with a leader. So in our multigenerational workplace, what are the cues for trust? Let’s find out.

TRUST CUES FOR THE DIGITAL WORKPLACE

To be like Barnard and build digital trust among your teams, you must send clear messages and be known as someone who is trustworthy. The key is to know how a team member will trust your message. You must know how to send them information in a format that helps them problem solve or get a job done. Here is an example from my friend, client, and mentor Samy.

Samy is an experienced and talented leader with a diverse generational sales team. During one of their last quarters for the year, he encouraged his folks to “make goal.” He knew in his gut that something else was missing in his approach, but he didn’t know what. I suggested my training could help his team identify how both they and their clients trust others. Understanding how to build trust would increase the call-to-close rate. Although this was an unusual time for training, Samy gave the program a shot.

The results? Not only did Samy’s team meet their sales targets, they exceeded them. Team performance was enhanced by understanding how to build digital trust with their clients. When my team and I asked his team what made the difference between the sales they had just completed and other assignments, they told us, “We felt we had 10 percent more time, and we were really able to spend that on our clients’ problems rather than engage in the back and forth of email or phone tag.”

What Samy did was utilize my Success Together course to give his team the tools to build trust. Within the course I teach people how to use the triangle of digital trust, illustrated in Figure 2.1:

FIGURE 2.1: The Triangle of Digital Trust

HOW TO UTILIZE THE TRIANGLE OF DIGITAL TRUST

To build digital trust in your messaging, you can use the triangle of digital trust. To use this system, start by classifying the generations you are dealing with. Then determine how they use technology and their default technology, such as Google Docs, Slack, or email. Once you have determined this information, you can determine the correct sentence pattern or structure to employ (the email templates in Chapter 1 can help you create your message). And as a result of each step, as the top of the triangle of digital trust shows, you will be able to categorize and recognize the technology and pattern to clarify your message and build trust.

By fine-tuning your use of technology, you will reduce the barrier of misunderstanding that leads to mistrust. Figure 2.2 shows the generational anchoring benchmarks and patterns that will help you do exactly that.

FIGURE 2.2: Generational Anchoring Benchmarks: Trust

GENERATIONAL ANCHORING BENCHMARKS: TRUST

The generational anchoring benchmarks around trust and technology are derived from common generational experiences and patterns in school and early in one’s career. Trust anchors help people frame problems, solutions, and encounters they experience using technology. These anchors are like spellcheck for problem solving: they help you clarify for your audience what’s in it for them, the organization, and you. This enables you to build digital trust.

Digital Trust Anchors for Ben and Other Boomers

Ben, our Boomer, had an exceptional introduction to the workforce. When he entered his first job, companies were expanding, the economy was ticking along, and you could get a job (potentially for life) when you graduated from high school. Boomers worked in the era before shareholder value became a quarterly obsession. They learned from leaders and were allowed to make mistakes on the job.

As we learned in the previous chapter, Boomers grew up in an auditory era. Television was in its infancy, and people listened to the radio; they therefore appreciate “language” and value face-to-face communication. They are engaged by, and trust in, a leader who follows protocol yet takes the time to meet the team. Gaining a Boomer’s trust takes time. It is a give-and-take activity driven by the sound of productivity. As children, Boomers had to converse. Their parents expected them to talk while at the dinner table. Consequently, they became great conversationalists, and they develop relationships through talking. When they were teenagers, the telephone was the technology they used to share news.

This generation was led by a strict paramilitary code. Schools had truant officers, offices had clock-in machines, and great ethical leaders were celebrated. This code was grounded in the belief that the leader leads and the followers do what the leader demands. But before you can convince Boomers to follow you, you first have to gain their trust.

One of the most interesting points found in the data from my research is how much Boomers are prepared to trust a leader. Boomers reported not only trusting their leaders but learning from them. Boomers expect to receive a direct command from a leader. They enjoy hearing or writing about how this command is going to help them build or better the organization.

My uncle Jim, whom I mentioned in the previous chapter, is a Boomer who has always appreciated and respected leadership. When he had team meetings, he was very comfortable sitting at the head of the table, and as the leader, he led the conversation and listened intently when his team spoke. He didn’t take notes, but even days later, he could repeat the conversation and was able to distill the issues at hand into a few clear and concise paragraphs. He was an auditory learner. His use of technology reflects this, as does Ben’s and that of almost every Boomer I met during my research.

My research found that, today, Boomers love the cell phone for its convenience and prefer to use it to talk rather than text. To build trust with Ben and the Boomers in your workplace, you must understand the best ways to specifically and continuously build trust, which include the following.

Digital Trust Triggers for Boomers

•   Personal alignment: When you message Boomers, be respectful. They appreciate the chain of command. Boomers experience leadership as a monarchy. To engage a Boomer, align your message with the mission of the organization. If a timely response isn’t given, call them and encourage a discussion.

•   Rewards: Having put in the hard work, Boomers want to secure their legacy. They are prepared and, in most cases, have dedicated their lives to their work. But they also expect their reward to be a pension and the ability to care for themselves long after leaving the workplace, which is exactly what they were promised when they began working.

•   Team alignment and company mission: Boomers are often prepared to make great sacrifices for company’s mission.

Messaging Tips to Build Trust with Boomers

•   Boomers appreciate dialogue when it comes to leadership, and lack of trust occurs when dialogue is lost. Don’t be afraid to Skype or FaceTime with this group. Although they enjoy a phone call, they have adapted to the technology that enables them to see others on a call. This is a witty group; they enjoy a good debate. If you are not connecting with the Boomers on your team, meet with them or call them. Talk to them.

•   Do not be afraid of messing up and looking bad with this generation. Boomers learned from trying and failing.

•   Boomers frame the context of a problem based on the company’s culture and mission.

•   Boomers are results oriented and motivated by security.

Digital Trust Anchors for Adam and Other Gen Xers

When Adam entered the workforce, the world was changing. Star CEOs, junk bonds, the Enron scandal, and the growing opulence of the CEO parachute were all the rage. Gen X experienced leadership that had directly departed from the management theory of Chester Barnard and Peter Drucker to a more laissez-faire, or anything goes, management model, one that believed the essence of leadership was “it all depends.” In this model, the situation was balanced with the relationship. A leader’s style would determine the extent to which this balance was achieved; leaders therefore became the focus, and employees became numbers on a P&L statement that shareholders reviewed. People I interviewed called this the end of the “gold watch era” of work. Employers didn’t care about you or what you had done—they cared about shareholders and shareholder value because that was what their salaries were based on, versus developing culture or employees.

Governments and organizations everywhere were dealing with deficits. Growing up and living through recessions shaped Gen X’s trust triggers. They went through many: the recession of 1973–1975; the 1980s, which had more bankruptcies than any previous decade and experienced a continual rise in interest rates; the dot-com bust of 1995–2001; and the great recession of 2007–2008. For this generation, money became the key to trust.

Gen Xers were taught that they had to lean in (before the phrase was a thing) to leaders, but a funny thing happened while they were leaning in in their youth—they were thrown under the bus. They believe that whoever is in control has all of the responsibility. And all of these trust triggers have been reinforced by their visual entertainment, including movies (such as Oliver Stone’s Wall Street, mentioned in the Introduction), the news (which included the first all-news TV station, CNN), and the rise of Martha Stewart and the picture-perfect life.

They are the most money-focused of all generations, because as they were coming of age, the idea of lifetime pensions or healthcare was dying. You had to manage your 401k and make career decisions that benefited you. This drove Gen X to be very independent. Gen Xers are the command-and-control team members of your group. Gen Xers process learning from leaders through command-and-control systems. They take the command from their leaders, put their heads down, and take control of the project or mission.

When Gen Xers interact with a leader, they read, listen, and respond with an ear for self- and team-preservation. They operate by asking questions internally, such as “What is the vision?” “How is this going to help me?” and “What do I have to do to achieve the results you (my manager) need, which will enable me to get my reward?”

Today, Gen Xers work for leaders, but they do not trust them, as our data on Gen Xers demonstrate. Leadership development was placed second after shareholder returns, so Gen Xers were either held back or given positions of responsibility without the right tools or the right compensation. What made matters worse, when Gen X was coming of age in the workplace, the idea of the CEO golden parachute was developed, which meant that no matter how poorly CEOs managed a company, they could walk away (or be told to walk away) with rich rewards from a failing company.

To develop trust with Gen Xers, give them the ability to run their own show and report back to you but don’t micromanage them or use threats against them. Although Gen Xers have a right to be cynical and unhappy, many really enjoy working hard and being responsible—it is in their DNA.

Digital Trust Triggers for Gen Xers

•   Personal alignment: As in their university days, when you need to build trust with Gen Xers, get them together and allow them to brainstorm. If a group setting is not possible, use email and include social proof of the messaging in the form of a PowerPoint. If you need to increase motivation for a Gen X team, do not pull punches. This is the command-and-control generation; if you message that they have the power to get a project done, they will take the reins and just do it.

•   Rewards: Meeting or exceeding KPIs means getting a reward. In the case of Gen X, that means money. In our data, my team and I found that most Gen Xers began to disengage from their leaders when a change in reward was made. For example, take two sales teams: one team hits its target and expects to be bonused as promised, and the other team does not hit its target. The VP of sales decides no one receives a bonus. Good salespeople begin to leave the company.

•   Team alignment and company mission: Gen Xers align with the organization’s vision. They prefer to picture the good of the organization and the possibilities of their teams.

Messaging Tips to Build Trust with Gen Xers

Adam and his fellow Gen Xer friends were the last generation to really enjoy college. As shown in the previous chapter, unlike Millennials and Gen Zers, Gen Xers didn’t have to focus on grades with the same fixation that students do now and in the two generations prior. This generation had fun being together and learning.

•   When you need this group to learn and trust each other, get them together in person, have food, and give them a whiteboard and notebook, or better yet, provide technology that combines both.

•   As a leader, you will have a tough time engaging this generation. Gen Xers are naturally suspicious. Use visual check-ins with this group. In a meeting with Gen Xers, use a chart and say something along the lines of “I said I would do this; this is what I have done; and this is how it will affect you.”

•   If there is bad news, tell them right away and tell them whether or not you have a plan. Gen Xers are familiar with difficult circumstances. They can handle bad news, but they disengage when they are kept in the dark.

•   They are task managers. Technology is for work, not for play. Tell them where you are in a project or a decision or they will automatically mistrust you. They want to know if you have accomplished what you said you would do, and if not, they will ask, “Why not?” This group is more Jack Welch than Chester Barnard. Welch is known for saying “it isn’t about you . . .” Chester is famous for saying “it’s all about you . . .” At work, Gen Xers worry more about the bottom line than technology. Once the strategy has been created, they will keep the team on task. Often, Gen Xers are so focused on getting the job done, they will force the “What have you done for us lately?” conversation.

•   They expect benchmarks, and they work to plan. Always being “first hired and first fired,” they know that if they get the job done, they get paid. If they don’t get the job done, they are fired.

Digital Trust Anchors for Trish and Other Millennials

Trish and her fellow Millennials process trust in leaders and corporations through the eyes of their peers, social media, and according to how the leaders live the “ethics of the brand.”

There are three misconceptions I often hear about Millennials: one, they are lazy; two, they spend all their time on their phones; and three, all they do is question directions when they should just do what they are told. Let me respond to these by first saying that a lack of trust in the “traditional way” of doing things underscores Millennials’ actions.

First, Millennials aren’t lazy; they have been brought up to be self-confident and self-aware. When they don’t see the value of accomplishing a task, they look to figure out how they can change it. They have cocareers with their parents, who help them with everything from negotiating contracts to deciding when to step away from work. They saw their parents work themselves to the bone only to lose in the 2007–2008 great recession, and they saw firsthand how trust was broken. They continue to see it today, so they are cautious in who they “kill” themselves for at work.

Second, Millennials live on their phones because they have learned to trust their peer groups and they share everything with their friends. No matter what you, as a leader, tell them, they will go online to verify the information and then use a social network to double-check that those facts are true. This is very frustrating for some leaders, as they have never had employees who do this and who cannot accept things at face value. Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram—all those wonderful things—are very much like the telephone was to Chester Barnard’s workers—they are how Millennials communicate.

Finally, Millennials question directions because, as a group, that is what they were taught to do: question, challenge, be curious. This was the main parenting strategy in the ’80s, and this generation was given choices. “What do you want to wear?” “What do you want for lunch?” “How about this or that?” Boomers’ and Gen Xers’ parents, on the other hand, ordered their children what to wear, and they decided what their children would eat for lunch.

Digital Trust Triggers for Millennials

•   Personal alignment: Millennials experience leaders as an exercise in trust. They are not as naturally cynical as the generation before them or the one now coming after them. If you can earn their trust, they will fully engage, and that engagement will build a solid, profitable business.

•   Rewards: This generation enjoys work and its benefits, but they love experiencing life. Change your method of reward assessment from “task” to “time.” If you work in a unionized environment, it is important to recognize this changing trend and ask Millennials how to make it work as part of the collective bargaining process. They will surprise you. Work-life balance, not money, is the reward for learning. They have adapted to the new realities of the digital workplace. They know they can work at any time, from anywhere, which means they are organized and their calendar is their life. They value time for living and build it into their daily routine.

•   Team alignment and company mission: Vision and mission are old-fashioned. Millennials respect organizations that live the brand’s ethos, morals, and ethics.

Messaging Tips to Build Trust with Millennials

•   “TL;DR” stands for “too long; didn’t read.” Millennials are so busy and, as a result, may ignore a long email. But a quick, clear calendar invite that includes resources will help them plot out how to get the job done. Today, your environment sends the message of how you respect and trust your team. Have Millennials work in groups, not in cubicles. They need to share how they have processed information, and they will share their sources. Millennials have the ability to adapt to almost any team. They love to share and discuss ideas online. They compare and contrast answers using multiple online sources. Put this talent to use to help you innovate new products.

•   When trying to motivate and direct members of this generation, you will have a tough time if you just give them orders, especially without putting those orders into context. Instead, align what needs to get done with the ethos of your organization. Create a moral or ethical team code and then follow it. But be warned—if you break it, they will leave.

•   When creating a team, give members the opportunity to determine their code of behavior. What are the rules of the team? How does the team operate? And what happens if you do not follow the rules?

•   If there is bad news, they will find it, so it is best to be up front if something bad is going to happen or has happened. Tell them how it affects the team and the brand. Trying to hide information from them is fruitless.

•   Allow them time to test but continually remind them of deadlines. This is best done through calendar reminders.

Digital Trust Anchors for Tyler and Other Gen Zers

Tyler and his Gen Z cohort are capable of building trust like no other generation. They will trust leaders based on their digital history. Gen Zers are visual and kinesthetic learners, but they trust digitally.

Gen Zers will read your history. They will know your faults and missteps because they will find them. Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok all feed their need to connect while also building a foothold for trust digitally and globally. Because of social media, Gen Zers have friends from all over the world who help them and chat with them.

As can be seen in the aftermath of numerous school shootings, 13- and 14-year-old children sadly, but strongly, know that the pen is mightier than the sword. Their weapon of rebellion isn’t a gun; it’s destroying others through digital means. They will use social media to expose the truth. One example, shared throughout the news after a school shooting, is when a group of Gen Zers shared information online about people who were trying to thwart their demands to get guns off the streets. They “dug” into people’s social media profiles and shared information about these people that the pro-gun lobby didn’t like.

Like Millennials, they don’t accept people at face value. They will check you out, and then if you are consistent in your platform, they will begin to trust you.

Unlike other generations, they multitask naturally, but this affects their learning because they have shorter attention spans. They consume information in short bursts. Think about a half-hour TV sitcom, which usually consists of about 22 minutes of content. Gen Zers get bored in less than 22 minutes’ time because they are used to YouTube. According to research by the University of Ottawa, “For them, the internet is not technology: it’s a normal part of life. XML replaces HTML: merely viewing the web becomes changing it.”⁸

My data on Gen Zers and their relationship to leaders is thin, as they are still on the cusp of entering the workforce, but early indications are that Gen Zers will be the Sherlock Holmes of the work world. Like the famous detective, Gen Zers naturally look for clues of alignment with their leaders, including their professors. They look for online patterns in leaders and in an organization’s brand that will feed their need to accomplish something with purpose. Early research suggests this generation will be hardworking and value money, much like their Depression-era great-great-grandparents. However, unlike their great-great-grandparents, they will be transparent about money. Gen Zers grew up in a recession and with WikiLeaks, so they want leadership that will be fully transparent about their work and the work of others.

Gen Zers are reflective. They quietly consult their phones for information and then react. They work alone but interact with groups through their smartphones. They need the physical contact and stimulation from others. They want to know that a workspace and a leader are safe. Like the generation before them, they look for a digital trail that offers clues to the organization’s moral and ethical code.

Like their great-grandparents, this generation has had more bad news in their short lives than any other before them. It is hard to find a Gen Zer who has not been personally affected by a random shooter (either at school or elsewhere), suicide, or cyberbullying. As a result, they are very resilient. This generation deals with bad news quickly and well. They create action plans with their friends online to protect themselves. This generation, along with Millennials, will usher in a return to Chester Barnard’s style of leadership focused on relationships. They believe in the power of clear, succinct messaging and management that builds trust in their teams. They will flock to innovative new companies that have embraced this type of management and leadership.

Digital Trust Triggers for Gen Zers

•   Personal alignment: Gen Zers experience leaders online. They expect daily updates about the company through social media. This generation has never had to wait for information before, so they don’t expect to wait for information from a leader now. Give them daily feedback and the opportunity to give daily feedback in return, as the company Glint.com offers.

•   Rewards: Money, then time. They also manage money through time: “If I do this, how long will it take until I get that?” Using their smartphones, they work 24-7, resting when they feel they deserve it. Many of them learned this from their Gen X parents who were always on their phones, demonstrating to their children that work is the most important aspect of life at home. And this generation can manage themselves well.

•   Team alignment and company mission: Information and ethics are their priorities. Ensure Gen Zers are never in the dark. Like Sherlock Holmes, they will find the light and flee. They check online to see how others have dealt with a problem they need to solve or attained a goal they would like to achieve. YouTube is the top search engine for this group.

Messaging Tips to Build Trust with Gen Zers

•   Prove you’re not a liar. Gen Z is the first generation to experience life online. They hunt and apply for jobs or university courses using tools such as Glassdoor.com and Ratemyprofessor.com, which were developed by Millennials. They are driven by algorithms. Gen Z manipulates these algorithms by writing the words in their résumés that the job application asks for. That’s how they get to the next stage. When they finally get offered the interview, before they go, they research the company through social media, but not the trending media like Instagram—they use the tried-and-true LinkedIn.

•   All things old are new again. This generation is fascinated with old-fashioned daily timers, and they like the tactile quality of writing with pens and pencils and creating a calendar they can hold in their hands. Of course, they do take pictures of their calendar to share on social media and still keep an “old-fashioned” online calendar.

•   Tell them when something needs to be done and what the rules are, then leave them alone to get it done.

BREAKING THROUGH THE BARRIER OF DIGITAL TRUST

With all of this knowledge, you can build trust through your digital communication. Once you break through this barrier, you will be able to motivate your team to accomplish tasks more quickly. Now that you are busting through the barrier of mistrust, let’s explore how you can customize and continue to build trust. Then let’s see how, like BBBK, you can use this knowledge to grow your business and create a culture that enables everyone in your culture, and your client community, to thrive and make money.