“I’m not upset that you lied to me, I’m upset that from now on I can’t believe you.” Friedrich Nietzsche
I recall a time when I attended a work meeting in which a colleague denied being consulted on a decision that had been made a week earlier. This surprised me, as the decision required the approval of all departments- one of which he led. I vividly recalled the meeting at which the change was made and that colleague’s agreement that his department could make it work.
Later that day, in a second meeting, the same colleague lied three more times. I then began to notice a regular pattern of denial and false allegations, which concerned me deeply.
Why is this person lying?
Why is no one, including me, calling him out?
Is there a broader epidemic of lying in the organization?
If there is, then, why?
The Importance of Trust in High-Performing Teams
Paul J. Zak’s article, “The Neuroscience of Trust” (Harvard Business Review, Jan-Feb 2017) highlights the value of honesty in organizations. Zak’s research identified that people working in high-trust organizations reported “75% less stress, 106% more energy at work, 50% higher productivity, 13% fewer sick days, 76% more engagement, 29% more satisfaction with their lives, and 40% less burnout,” when compared with those working at low-trust organizations.
I don’t know about you, but based on those statistics, I want to work in a high-trust organization.
On reflection, I don’t believe that the organizational culture where I was working was so toxic that it promoted lying as the norm. It’s likely that the lack of integrity of that one individual was more a function of their personality than a symptom of poor culture. At the time, it was a commonly held view amongst my colleagues that it wasn’t safe to acknowledge mistakes and weaknesses.
Why did they feel that way?
The business in question had been through a significant period of upheaval. Some difficult projects had placed a lot of stress on the entire organization and employee turnover was high. But now those projects were behind us; the business was hitting budget and the outlook was positive. But, despite the turnaround in performance, it felt like we could be doing so much better. And something was holding us back.
Could a lack of trust be the obstacle?
In his 2002 book, “The Five Dysfunctions of a Team,” Patrick Lencioni identifies the first dysfunction as an absence of trust. The absence of trust, argues Lencioni, “…stems from their unwillingness to be vulnerable within the group.” In other words, team members don’t feel safe to be open about their mistakes and weaknesses.
You might ask yourself how important it is to share your mistakes and weaknesses. It’s important, because the effort to mask those mistakes and weaknesses comes at a cost to the organization, and ultimately yourself.
If you don’t feel safe to disclose your mistakes, how can you properly remedy them and prevent the same mistakes in the future? If you don’t feel you can share your weaknesses, or allow others to help you identify them, how can you improve? How can others step into the breach to offset your weaknesses with their strengths and improve the performance of the team as a whole?
Your strengths will undoubtedly offset other team member’s weaknesses at the same time.
Building Trust
Building trust starts at the top. Unless the CEO of a company creates an environment in which it is safe for the executive team to be vulnerable, the likelihood of building trust throughout the organization is very low.
The challenge for the rest of us, how can we make a difference?
All is not lost.
Most of us want our team to perform to the highest standard and for each member in our team, and the broader department, to be fulfilled. As leaders, we can build trust within our own teams.
We can do this as a team, by allowing each of our direct reports to share their shortcomings on a one-on-one basis. It starts by acknowledging your own weaknesses and asking your team for their awareness and support in calling you out when you make a mistake, or when you are about to make a mistake.
If there is a lack of trust in the broader organization, it is important that you shelter your team. You can do this by owning your team’s mistakes and holding yourself accountable for your team’s deliverables.
As you build trust with your team, it is absolutely critical to be vigilant in your response to your team’s mistakes. Chastising a team member in front of their peers is a sure way to erode trust. Positive acknowledgement, on the other hand, when someone acknowledges a mistake or weakness, can foster deeper trust amongst the team.