Trust & Performance Dr. Amine Ayad

What is trust?

Why is “trust” important?

Are there potential negative consequences to trust?

AMINE AYAD – DM 2

Different authors define trust differently

Assured reliance on the character, ability, strength, or truth of someone or something (Source: merriam-webster.com).

An expectancy held by an individual or a group that the word, promise, verbal or written statement of another individual or group can be relied upon (Rotter, 1967: 651).

A personality trait of people interacting within an organization (Farris, Senner, & Butterfield ; 1973: 145).

AMINE AYAD - DM 3

Numerous theories attempted to explain trust

Classic theory of management: Workers are motivated by external factors i.e. rewards & punishment. They would slack without supervision

Economists: Humans are self-benefiting in an opportunistic way

Agency theory: Trust is a product of negotiations i.e. contractual

Anthropologists: Trust is cultural i.e. in certain cultures actions are done for the benefit of the collective not the individual

Social identity theory: Individual identity tied to the organization i.e. mutual success necessitates trust

AMINE AYAD - DM 4

Calculated and uncalculated methods of trust provide clarity to understanding trust

Calculated

I trust you because you will be held accountable if you don’t fulfill my trust. It is in your best self-interest. It is contractual.

Uncalculated

I trust you because you will have my best interest in mind regardless of external factors such as rewards & punishments and / or contractual obligations.

AMINE AYAD - DM 5

Seven dangerous factors that lead to bad team performance

Bad Performance

No agreement - paralysis

Groupthink (agreement at

any cost)

Free-riding (no contribution)

Bad Apple Effect

(negative member)

No Accountability

for Results

Lack of TrustWeak functional knowledge

AMINE AYAD - DM 6

Absence of trust among team members hampers team’s effectiveness

Conceal Weaknesses

Hide mistakesDon’t ask for

help

Don’t offer to help

Jump into conclusions

Don’t tap into one another’s

experience

AMINE AYAD - DM 7

Employee’s trust is shaped by 4 key influencers

Leader or CEO Other Employees

Direct Supervisor Company

Employee’s Trust

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There is a relationship between trust and performance

Davis et al. (2000) found that trust was significantly related to sales, profit and turnover, and to employees' perceptions of their managers' integrity and competence.

Observation: Trust without verification process opens the door for risks and inadequacies.

AMINE AYAD - DM 9

Trust building is about managing the task, self, and relationships

Openness in communication was seen as highly important, because gate-keeping of information or keeping employees in ignorance, creates uncertainty, fear and distrust. Essentially, supervisors were most likely to be trusted if they were seen to take a caring, mentoring approach with their supervisees while still being regarded as competent and deserving of authority. By contrast, managers perceived as untrustworthy were seen as self-serving, failing to give recognition, stifling the employee's potential, quick to blame and criticize, and perceived as incompetent. It can be concluded that a trusted supervisor not only manages the task responsibilities of his or her role, but manages the relationship and power differences positively at the same time (Evans, 1996)

AMINE AYAD - DM 10

Mentorship builds trust

Not all supervisors are mentors; however, Bell (1996) argues that, when supervisors take on a mentoring role (formally or informally), the individuals as well as the organization benefit. House (1981) identified four dimensions of mentoring: emotional support (e.g. trust, concern, listening and esteem); appraisal support (e.g. affirmation, feedback); informational support (e.g., advice, suggestions, directives and information); and instrumental support (e.g. resources, labor and time). These factors are clearly related to issues of trust in supervisor-supervisee relationships.

AMINE AYAD - DM 11

Integrity & Sincerity are key elements to building trust & performance

TrustProductivity & Efficiency leading to Results &Performance

FairnessReliabilityAccountabilityConsistencyOpennessCareMentorshipTransparencyCompetency

CollaborationTeamworkConfidenceEngagementTenureLearning-in-actionFunctional-Competency

Integrity & Sincerity

Integrity & Sincerity

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POA to build trust

Create a Plan of Action (POA) to build trust:

Sincere self-reflection on trust-relationships (Transparency, Competency, Reliability, Consistency, Fairness, Etc.)

Trust assessment (360 surveys)

Employees who report directly to you

Other employees in your business

Community leaders

Non-Profit organizations

Your leaders

Business Partners

Peers

AMINE AYAD - DM 13