Unity, cohesion, and oneness are often ranked in the workplace right up there with rainbows and unicorns. They make pretty posters but are seldom if ever seen. Yet of all the fundamental qualities of successful teams they are truly the bedrocks upon which winning is constructed. As outlined in my prior column, mutual trust creates an unstoppable dynamic when a business creates an atmosphere where unity and cohesion can thrive. A unified, motivated team will prevail every time over a high-paid roster of self-absorbed superstars.
I like this definition of the term mutual trust: “the internal harmony that converts a mob into a team”. Cooperation and the power of collectively utilizing individual brilliance has proven throughout history to be THE winning formula. Think for a minute of the times when you have been a part of something larger than yourself when you worked hard with others toward a common task or goal. Not only did it probably create a successful outcome, but the atmosphere of working hard together created a double payoff. It’s just the best satisfaction of a job well done. WE did it!
Apart from the warm, fuzzy feeling of being a part of a winning team, mutual trust streamlines processes, greases the wheels, so to speak, and causes things to happen much more quickly. Between trusted co-workers communication can be instant instead of having to create a directive which has to be studied then approved, then revised, then re-approved, then distributed, on and on it goes while the time to act and prevail has passed a half dozen “then’s” back. A lack of trust creates friction within an organization, the same kind of friction experienced by a wheel without grease. Trust is greasy, the good kind of greasy.
And everyone said, “AMEN!”. Trust is great! Then we looked around and said, “OK, but how do we get it?”. Several things help create it. As mentioned above, a shared task can help. But not just any shared task, a shared DIFFICULT task. When a group of people face adversity or impossible deadlines and by necessity work hard together it can create a sense of community that otherwise wouldn’t exist. Working overtime together to make that deadline or engaging in a group marathon of problem solving can in the words of Charles Handy at the London Business School: “Trust gives people a sense of belonging. When people feel they’re active members of their work community – not merely hired help – they become interested in the company’s future and willingly dedicate their time and talent”. (emphasis mine).
Right up there with those rainbows and unicorns is every manager’s dream that a staff will willingly go the extra mile, lift a heavier share, and do it because they are genuinely interested in the company’s future. Well, Mr. Manager, they will do that as a result of YOU convincing them by your actions, not corporate platitudes. By honoring your
commitments and being trustworthy yourself, and, equally important rewarding team members who have proven themselves to be trustworthy while removing those who haven’t, you’ll find the proverbial pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Few things resonate throughout a company and create mutual trust like management walking the walk and making the firm decisions to reward those whom the group can trust and to eliminate anyone who falls short of the trust test, regardless of the numbers they put on the board. Like a healthy wildfire, it will motivate the team, and produce results measured in more ways than just the bottom line.
Originally published in Beaumont Business Journal, Heat And Humanity Column
