What diminishes trust in the leader the most?

The level of trust is highly correlated with how people rate a leader’s overall leadership effectiveness. Do you know what factor hurts trust in the workplace the most? Take a guess. 

Jack Zenger and Joseph Folkman analyzed over 80,000 360-degree reviews and found that three elements predict whether a leader will be trusted by his direct reports, peers, and other colleagues. 

These key elements of trust in the workplace are:

1. Consistency
2. Good judgment/expertise 
3. Positive relationships

They also found out that one of the elements was more important than the others. Without it being on a high level, the trust ratings fell significantly. 

The consequences of low trust in the workplace are not fun for companies to deal with:

• Employees are more disengaged (40% of disengaged employees vs 6% in high-trust workplaces) 
• High turnover rates (The Work Institute’s 2020 Retention Report estimated that voluntary turnover costs employers in the USA over $600 billion annually) 
• Reduced collaboration and innovation (employees hesitate to share ideas) 
• Decreased productivity (50% lower productivity compared to high trust organizations per American Psychological Association)
• Negative health and wellbeing outcomes (increased stress, burnout, exhaustion, sick time)

 And, finally - did you take a guess about which out of the three elements is the most important to keep trust in the leader? It's maintaining positive relationships! :) 

One of the ways to improve trust & relationships in the workplace is by effectively recognizing the effort and work of your team members. 

Want to know more about it? Have a look at our mini mental fitness challenge from another day with a few tips on how to appreciate others more effectively.   

 And - here is a link to the HBR article where you can read more about the study.