subject: Trust Leads to Autonomy Which Leads to Engagement [print this page] Trust Leads to Autonomy Which Leads to Engagement
Trust is a vital ingredient in high performance organizations. High levels of trust enable improved communication flow and productive problem solving. Research shows that improved flow of information improves performance, reduces unproductive conflict, increases adaptability, and innovation. Having trust in someone (or in a team) allows us to give autonomy to that person. Autonomy leads to engagement. The more autonomous one is in their work the more creative they are and the more engagement they feel.
Right now engagement is a critical factor for an organization's success. The higher the engagement the higher will be the productivity and profitability. Yet the latest engagement research shows only about 29% of employees are fully engaged in their work. This tells me leaders are not trusting employees. Trust must come before engagement.
Successful leaders recognize they must trust employees first. They purposely put people in situations where they will be challenged and allow the employees to demonstrate their skills. A leader will make themselves available but they don't look over the employee's shoulder and they don't micro-manage. They trust first in order to be trusted. Ernest Hemingway once said, "The best way to find out if you can trust somebody is to trust them."
One of the most important responsibilities of a leader is to manage the variation in trust in their organization or within their team. This requires a keen understanding of the right definition of trust. The definition I appreciate the most is from the International Association of Business Communicators. Their definition is: a willingness to be vulnerable because of the presence of integrity, concern, competence and shared objectives. By managing each of these four elements a leader can then make a decision to be vulnerable. By making themselves vulnerable they bring out the best in the employee. They allow that employee autonomy and with autonomy come growth and engagement.
In the movie The Horse Whisperer Robert Redford plays a middle aged expert horse trainer/cowboy in Montana. He is met by a young girl and her mom who ask him to help rehabilitate their horse. The horse suffered a nearly fatal injury in an accident with an 18 wheeler. The girl and mom wanted to avoid putting the horse down even though the injury was so severe. The horse was not the only casualty. The girl lost her leg. She was only 14. Redford realized he needed to help the girl before he could help the horse.
In one scene he and the girl find themselves out on the range alone with an old pickup truck. Redford asks the girl to drive him back to the ranch while feigning fatigue. He challenges her to use her skills. He trusted she would be able to drive him even though she had never driven a truck let alone a standard shift. He trusted her first, provided support, and allowed her autonomy to give it a try. It worked. She did it.
The young girl became engaged in the process of helping to rehabilitate the horse. By trusting her, giving her training and allowing her to use her skills (providing autonomy) she became engaged. This works for employees. It also can work for students.
Our schools are in trouble. The new documentary Waiting for Superman demonstrates the challenge well. Some say the film blames unions and teachers for the problem. Certainly they play a role. But those who say that are missing a huge piece. The problem starts with how we think about students and how we have set up the system.
We have a system set up to send the message, WE DON'T TRUST YOU. We have very strict curriculums. We use standardized testing to drive improvement and reward or punish students and schools. We use grades to attempt to motivate students to do better. What are we left with? Is it engagement? Is it results?
I would recommend we send a message of WE TRUST YOU. Students naturally want to learn and teachers naturally want to do a good job. Don't they? We can then provide an environment of autonomy. We can then expect them to be engaged.
Successful leaders trust people will do the right things. If they don't do what they are supposed to do then there needs to be consequences. But why create a system that sends a message of distrust for everyone just because you have a few bad apples? Trust people, give them the tools so they can be autonomous and then watch the engagement happen.
International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) by Pamela Shockley-Zalabak, Ph.D., Kathleen Ellis, Ph.D., Ruggero Cesaria
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