There’s a High Probability You May Not Be Trusted

If trust is one of the most essential forms of capital a leader can possess, it might also be the source of some of their deficits. What do I mean by that? Everything starts with trust. It is the basis of all our interactions, from shopping to working, marriage to voting. Leadership may feel like a hero’s journey centered on good deeds and the many accolades acquired along the way. But many fail to realize that somewhere along that path to greatness, they might have lost something far more valuable than a promotion: the trust of their direct reports and colleagues. And what’s worse? They didn’t even know that it happened.

Unless you’ve done something that obviously warrants a lack of trust, you probably assume that your colleagues have a reasonable level of trust in you. To test this, I asked over 60,000 leaders to rate how much they THOUGHT they were trusted. Then I asked their manager, peers, direct reports, and others to rate the level of trust they had in this leader.

What did the data show? That over 45% of leaders overestimated how much they were trusted. What does that mean for these leaders who are living in ignorance? And how does it affect those working with and around them?

At face value, it may seem like a minor mistake that should not heavily influence effectiveness. But does it? I identified leaders who over and underestimated their level of trust. The graph below shows that those who substantially overestimated how much others trusted them were rated 20 percentile points below average on their overall leadership effectiveness, while those who underestimated how much they were trusted were rated 11 percentile points above average.

This study can be found in The Trifecta of Trust: The Proven Formula for Building and Restoring Trust.

What’s more, certain leadership behaviors were also dramatically impacted by this misunderstanding of trust levels. This means that when colleagues did not trust a leader, they also perceived the leader to be less effective in various skills. Below are the seven specific skills that were hit the hardest.

These trust “overraters” were evaluated as having worse relationships, being less honest, collaborating poorly, and exhibiting less technical skill than they themselves believed. They also were rated as less able to develop others, solve problems, and communicate powerfully than they believed.

The shocking thing about this data is these behaviors are not just centered on relationships or interpersonal skills. It is not just about people not liking you. If you aren’t trusted, when you offer a solution to a problem, people don’t consider it seriously; they second-guess you. When you turn over your work on a project that you spent hours perfecting, they dismiss the quality. When you speak up about new ideas, policies, or processes, they could tune you out, and there’s a good chance that you may not know it.

Knowing How Much You Are Trusted

Trust is a small behavior with a significant impact. You can assess trust across the world by asking just one question: “Can most people be trusted?” The percentage of people in a country who answer in the affirmative can predict the wealth and prosperity or poverty and crime of that country. If trust is low, business slows down, people want more assurances, both parties are suspicious of each other, and ultimately, prosperity is also low. The correlation of trust with GDP (Gross Domestic Product) is 0.834, which is a highly significant correlation.

This research, along with many others, indicates that overestimating the level of trust others have in you can have a significant negative impact on a leader’s overall effectiveness.

Arrow, K. J. (1972). Gifts and exchanges. Philosophy & Public Affairs, 343-362.

Signals of Low Trust

There is something you need to open your mind to consider: People may not trust you as well as you think they do. Now, if you asked someone outright, “do you trust me?” you may receive the answer you want to hear, but it might not be fully accurate. Why? Because flat out telling your boss, “I don’t trust you,” isn’t something a person will easily admit to, and some may not realize that the uneasy feeling they have is a lack of trust. But, in my research, there have been a few clear signals that indicate trust needs to be improved.

So, here are some questions to consider honestly. These questions evaluate your true character, not how you want to act or know you should act, but how you really act.

Signal 1: Failure to Exercise Good Judgment

•  Are others confident in your ability to make good decisions or have accurate judgments?
• When making critical decisions, do you seek out the best data and insights?

Too often, leaders assume that their position qualifies them to make critical decisions where they may not have the best data and insights.

Signal 2: Hypocritical Behavior

•  Are you a role model, or could your actions sometimes be interpreted as hypocritical?
• Do you set standards for others that you ignore?
• Do you ask others to do work that you avoid?
• Are you willing to pitch in and help with the dirty work?

When a leader believes they do not need to follow the rules that apply to most others in the organization, it destroys their credibility.

Signal 3: Inability to Show Consistency and Honor Commitments

• Do you say one thing and do another?
• Do you make promises you do not keep?
• Most people say no to these two questions, but has a direct report ever asked for your help or assistance, and you forgot you said you would help?
• Can you be counted on to follow through on commitments?

It is easy to say we can do something, but while we may often forget our commitments, those we make commitments to tend to remember them.

Signal 4: Neglecting Relationship Building Practices

• Do you make an effort to stay in touch with the issues and concerns of others?
• Are you the last to know when others are having problems?
• Do you make efforts to know your team members on a personal level?

My research strongly points to positive relationships being the number one factor influencing how much others trust.

Signal 5: Lack of Technical Profession Expertise (in the areas you SHOULD know about!)

• Are you out of date about certain aspects of your job?

The world is changing at a very fast pace, and in your role, others expect that you will be well informed, knowledgeable, and up to date. You do not need to be perfect on this issue, but your colleagues should see you are making an effort.

Signal 6: Avoiding Collaboration and Cooperation

• Are there groups or individuals that you avoid or are uncooperative with?
• Do you have conflicts with other groups?

If there is a conflict with the group (or individual), this negatively impacts how much you are trusted.

Signal 7: Absence of Communication

• Do you keep others well informed about progress, changes, or new directions?

Whenever others are surprised because they have not been informed about a change, trust in you dissipates.

Leadership is not about your hero’s journey but rather how you empower and lift those around you. Trust is the foundation for creating an environment where people grow and enjoy their work. Trust reaches in and changes the way other people respond to a leader. It identifies and validates the leader’s motivation for all other behaviors because it tells an employee whether their boss is acting out of self-interest or because they really care.

It’s time to check in, watch for the signals, and seriously consider the level of trust others have in you.

—Joe Folkman

(This article first appeared on Forbes)