Do your people 'trust' you? I mean, REALLY trust you? If the answer is yes, the you're clearly doing some things right, and you're in a minority!
Less than half of employees trust their senior leaders. That's according to a new survey of over 10,000 employees by The Kenexa High Performance Institute reported on Management Issues.
Almost three out of 10 employees (28%) actively distrust the senior leaders in their organisation, and only 48% said they trusted their leaders. 24% were undecided (which I'd argue is a 'negative result'!)
The research also found direct correlations that showed employees who distrust their leaders are
- 9 times more likely to seriously consider leaving their organisation
- 15 times more likely to report unreasonable work stress and.....
- 7 times more likely to feel mentally and physically unwell.
The report, Trust Matters, highlights that the three behaviours that primarily affect whether employees trust or distrust their leaders are:
- Integrity (Are they honest?),
- Benevolence (Do they care about me?) and....
- Competence (Can they do their job?)
It might all seem 'obvious stuff', but clearly, there are lots of leaders who don't seem to 'get it'!
How do you 'measure up' against these 3 criteria? Don't know? Then maybe a great step in building or reinforcing 'trust' is to ask your people what they think! Only, however, if you're prepared to listen, take on board what is said, and then do something as result (crucially, be seen to be doing something too!)
How do I know? Trust me - I'm a consultant!