If you follow politics, you know the drill of political campaigns leading up to an election. Catchy slogans, theme songs, social media ads, speeches, influencers, exhaustive reports, and other means are used in an effort to sway voters in the party’s favor. What’s interesting, however, is the post-election period.
No matter the outcome, after an election takes place, all parties tend to celebrate and emphasize the silver lining. You’ll often hear statements such as (“We didn’t win, but …”) “we improved compared to the last poll,” “we performed better than we did last election,” “we gained more votes in the western part of the country than last year,” “we are the winners!”
At times you can observe a similar notion in business. Many managers are too ashamed of reporting losses so they will overstate positive results on less significant metrics — “We saved $200 on office supplies this month!” — and play down negative results on important metrics — “We had to close down our Milwaukee office.” To prevent these silver lining reports, make sure to encourage trust and transparency in your organization. When the numbers yield negative results, report it, cut your losses, and move on.
Here are three tips for building and cultivating trust in your organization.
- Walk the talk
Building trust in the workplace starts with you. If you expect your employees to be transparent with you, you must be transparent with them. Keep your promises, ensure everyone is informed about your organization’s performance, and always align your behavior with the organization’s values. - Give praise when it’s due
Acknowledge good performance and give praise when it’s due. Employees who receive recognition from their leaders are more likely to trust them. Be transparent about your and your organization’s wins and (especially) failures to encourage transparent communication across your organization. - Be honest and supportive
Show support to your employees even when mistakes are made. Being honest, setting expectations, and providing feedback for a job well done (or not-so-well done) are all forms of transparency that build trust. Don’t ever punish your employees for reporting “bad news.”
