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Building Trust in Communications By Noreen Kelly For more information visit:
http://www.trustacrossamerica.com
Copyright© 2013 Next Decade, Inc.
Building Trust in Communications
My name is Noreen Kelly. I am a communication consultant, coach, writer and the president of Noreen
Kelly Communications, Inc. Trust has been an essential element of my work in promoting new
initiatives and helping organizations communicate change. I help leaders build and promote trust by
aligning behavior and communication through articulating mission, vision, values and goals,
delivering consistent, credible messages with clarity so that everyone is on the same page, and
achieving buy-in for their business strategy.
To this task, I bring more than 20 years of corporate experience in support of global Fortune 500
companies, not-for-profit enterprises, academic institutions and entrepreneurial ventures. I have
promoted new initiatives and programs to internal and external audiences, led change communication
efforts to major organizations and provided communications counsel to senior executives and mid-level
leaders on employee engagement issues. I have written on the topic of trust in business for Leadership
Excellence magazine and other publications.
Defining Trust in Communications
Trust and communication … these are the lifeblood of any organization and the glue that holds us
together. Trust and communication are closely interwoven. At its core, trust is the basis of
communication, and communication is key to establishing, maintaining and building trust.
Trust in communications is about relationships. Without a commitment to truth and open
communication, a solid relationship cannot be formed. Trust—the essential ingredient for collaboration
and effective communication—is critical for organizations that want to create more open, caring and
ethical cultures.
The better you communicate and trust, the better your ROI. Once you lose trust, you lose the ability to
communicate and lead.
What's different about Trust in Communications?
Aligning trust and communication is critical for any leader. To build an environment of trust, leaders
must hold to a high standard in their behavior and communication. Trust in business means doing the
right thing and doing things right for the good of all shareholders through the strategic alignment of
values with behavior, words and actions.
According to Edgar Schein, former professor at the MIT Sloan School of Management and noted
expert in the field of organizational development, everything depends on good communication:
“Communication is the bedrock of work and the basis of organizational effectiveness, and open
communication depends on trust in a climate of giving and help.” (E. Schein, 2010).
Why Trust Matters in Communication
Trust matters. Every day, in every person and in everything, trust matters. From the workplace to the
marketplace, trust matters in communication: between managers and employees, between customers
and suppliers, between people in teams and team members, and one to one. The lack of authentic,
honest and credible communication is at the heart of why some companies lose the trust of their
employees, customers, suppliers, and often, the general public.
Organizational Communication
Providing communication strategies and tactics that strengthen an organization's reputation is key:
articulating the organization's mission, vision, goals and objectives and then taking action based on that
direction; consistently and clearly stating values and delivering on their promises; building employee
engagement and trusting relationships by improving their communication style, strategies and impact;
and communicating the organization's new direction by building awareness, understanding, acceptance
and commitment.
Personal trust
Organizational trust is based on interpersonal trust – trust works from the inside out. Erosion of trust
can occur not only from large corporate scandals but also on a daily basis through breakdowns in
relationships. Leaders can learn how to instill trust in their personal practices and create a culture that
allows for honest, authentic conversations.
Change Communications and Transition Management
Any significant change can happen only when the people involved trust the process. Timely, effective,
consistent and regular communications is critical to building awareness, understanding and acceptance,
changing behaviors, and ultimately to improving business results. A transition approach that honors the
people side of change further builds trust.
Employee Communication
Harmony in the workplace leads to success in the marketplace. Surveys indicate that employer turnover
costs companies millions of dollars each year. Establishing trust can increase profitability, boost market
value, add competitive advantage, lower costs, provide efficiencies, improve morale, and result in
lower turnover, improved productivity, and increased job satisfaction. In an atmosphere of trust,
employees feel appreciated, respected and valued. Open and honest communication between managers
and staff creates mutual trust and understanding. Work relationships built on trust allow us to get better,
faster results with less stress. Trust is also built through developing communication strategies that boost
management credibility, enhance employee engagement and build collaboration and teamwork.
Customer Trust
Trust is a market asset and key to customer loyalty. Partnerships based on trust provide the greatest
value to customers at the lowest cost. Establishing trust can increase profitability and efficiencies, boost
market value, add competitive advantage and lower costs. Distrust can result in refusal to buy or invest
in a company’s products or services. By integrating trust as a competitive asset, organizations can
improve their bottom line and promote their highest good.
Knowledge Sharing and Collaboration
When we trust someone, we feel safe to share what is important to us, including our thoughts, ideas,
efforts, hopes and concerns. Lack of trust hinders knowledge sharing and collaboration. Sharing of
information in a climate of respect and collaboration leads to an increase in knowledge and
understanding, and, therefore to trust. If distrust and fear are present and the culture doesn’t foster trust,
knowledge sharing won't occur.
Public Relations
Trust is an integral part of maintaining relationships with the media and the public. Speaking the truth
enhances the credibility and reputation of your organization. It is important that your organization
understands its unified message to the public, and works honestly and ethically to disseminate that
message.
Communications and Trust – Principles and Skills
Building Trust in Communications is in the Process
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Listen to customers.
Talk directly to your people. Show respect, concern and empathy.
Reach audiences through clear, honest communication.
Boost credibility with employees.
Clarify and communicate the strategic direction of mission, vision, goals and objectives.
Align messages with words and actions … do what you say you will do.
Do the right thing.
Say what you know when you know it. If you don't know, say so. If you can't tell, say so.
Creating a Culture of Trust – 10 Actions for Leaders
1. Tell people what you know and don't know. Then tell them when you think you'll know more,
and get back to them with that information.
2. Explain why.
 Explain why you or the company took a particular action, especially when communicating
unpleasant or unwelcome information. If you don't do this, actions will be misinterpreted.
3. Be consistent.
 Repeating key messages reinforces them. Make sure your actions also reinforce those
messages.
4. Don't “spin.”
 Don't try to spin bad news to make it look positive. People know when you're lying to them
– and they won't respect you for it. We handle the truth better than a lie or half-truth.
5. Communicate, communicate, communicate
 Speak the truth with employees. Engage in open, honest conversations.
 Communicate honestly and be forthcoming about the company's prospects and the future of
people's jobs.
 Provide opportunities for face-to-face interactions.
 Avoid “management speak.”
 Keep employees informed and address issues when you observe them.
 Provide timely feedback.
 Listen.
 Involve employees in the ownership of ideas and the planning process.
 Involve people at the grassroots of a project or a decision when possible. Involve those who
are or could be affected.
 Value people's input and opinions.
 Communicate the importance of ethics and integrity, along with shared vision and values.
 Provide clear and consistent communication to key stakeholders.
6. Be realistic. Don't overpromise.
7. Be accountable
 Admit mistakes.
 Hold yourself accountable for your actions, words and decisions to your employees and
customers.
8. Acknowledge and honor people's contributions, efforts, feelings and concerns.
 Respect the individual. Promote mutual trust.
 Be inclusive. Show empathy.
 Fairly reward employees.
9. Be authentic.
 Bring words and actions into alignment.
 Consistently live by clearly stated values.
10. Share information.
 Sharing of information within and between individuals and teams creates dialogue,
promotes cooperation and helps build community over time.
John R. Dallas, Jr., founder and Chief Alignment Officer of Hillview Partners, advises: “Talk about
trust with your teams, please. A leader's purposeful word or act builds trust, while a careless expression
or deed can crush trust. Fully responsible leaders define, describe and exemplify trust.” (J. Dallas,
2012).
The Seven C's of Building Trust in Communications
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Clarity
Consistency
Credibility
Conversation
Cooperation
Collaboration
Connection
Case Study – trust and communication must be interwoven to realize successful change
The following case study related to an enterprise-wide content management system implementation
project at a Chicago-based global corporation, though the lessons learned on communication and trust,
could apply to any change initiative.
The stated goal of this project was to implement a web content management tool to simplify and
expedite the content publishing process, making it easier to build and manage websites. I was brought
into the role of communications lead on the project late in the process after credibility problems had
surfaced. The program manager was presenting road shows early on in the process, both overpromising and under-delivering when there wasn't a project plan, which led to shifting deadlines,
confusion, and irritated and frustrated end users. This user cynicism resulted in a lack of acceptance
and buy-in.
Al Golin, founder and chairman of GolinHarris, a global public relations and communications agency,
points out: “Although overpromising may buy some time, it almost always comes back to haunt
organizations. Failing to deliver on raised expectations is the kiss of death, at least in the long term. It's
much better to disappoint people right away with honesty than later when they discover you misled
them.” (A. Golin, 2004).
As a result of these trust issues, the program communication presented a number of challenges:
 raising awareness and acceptance of the new publishing tool;
 building the project team's credibility;
 overcoming resistance to the new system as a result of the project's history – for example,
project time delays;
 effectively communicating the content management tool's capabilities and advantages;
 informing the community about the migration schedule;
 communicating more effectively with the web development community; ineffective/lack of
communication had resulted in a failure to secure buy-in concerning the value of the centralized
system;
 communicating more effectively with the general population – confusion concerning the tools
resulted in an end-user backlash; and
 communicating more effectively with individual site owners; the site owners didn't agree with
the direction and took their sites outside the corporate environment.
Restoring trust
Communication and education are the most critical areas of a systems implementation roll out, and
buy-in is achieved by making users feel they are part of the process. Improved communications was
achieved by:
 addressing the many end-user concerns through increased awareness and education of the tool's
capabilities and advantages;
 timely, accurate updates;
 communication of accomplishments, objectives and goals to help connect the dots;
 orientation sessions to introduce web publishers, site owners and business sponsors to the
content migration process; and
 ongoing communications to highlight project status, progress and successes.
Where trust was not operating
Indicators of where trust was not operating included these lessons learned from the front lines:
Be realistic in your goals, commitments and deadlines.
Deliver on your commitments.
Don't over promise or under-deliver.
Acknowledge project timeline delays. Explain the current situation and revised timeframes –
don't just ignore the date originally promised. Remember, the credibility of leadership is on the
line.
 Announcing a date and then not addressing the date after missing it – you need to explain why
the date wasn't met.
 People need to see and understand the process in order to embrace it.
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Factor in all issues – resources, time, skills, training, workloads and communication.
Highlight early wins (initial successes).
Engage your end-users regarding issues of importance to them.
Listen to the needs of your users and bring them along with you – they are part of the process
and are probably part of the solution.
 Mandates don't work. People don't like to be told what to do, and they will find a way around it;
 Communicate, communicate, communicate, early on.
 Be upfront from the start. Avoid spin and invite feedback.
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Restoring some degree of employee trust was possible only by delivering on stated promises and
executing an ongoing, consistent communications and training effort. Any significant change can
happen only when the people involved trust the process. Open, honest, authentic communication during
a change effort is essential to that process.
In short: tell the truth, keep your promises, and align your words and actions.
Trust Assessment
This trust diagnostic tool is designed to help you understand where you and your organization are on
the trust continuum. The assessment is based on three elements and seven imperatives of trust, each
grounded in good communication.
Elements: Relationships, Communication and Sharing & Collaboration
Imperatives: Accountability, Authenticity, Credibility, Honesty, Integrity, Respect, and Transparency ~
the soft stuff in trust is the hard stuff in trust.
For the three elements of trust and seven imperatives of trust, rate your interactions in the workplace or
with the people you work with as a group, team, your immediate supervisor, your company's top
management, your peer or your direct reports.
For each question, rate your answer on a scale of 1 to 5:
5 = Very Often
4 = Often
3 = Sometimes
2 = Rarely
1 = Never
Trust Elements
Relationships
 Value people's input and opinions ______
 Treat everyone with equal consideration, regardless of their level in the organization ______
 Help to ease conflict and tension in the workplace ______
Sub Total ______
Communication
 Engage in open and clear communication ______
 Create a dialogue ______
 Practice consistency and alignment of written and verbal messages ______
Sub Total ______
Sharing & Collaboration
 Likely to share information and resources frequently and openly ______
 Involve others in the ownership of ideas and planning process _____
 Promote collaboration ______
Sub Total ______
Trust Imperatives
Accountability
 Accept responsibility for my actions, words and decisions _______
 Admit mistakes and acknowledge project missteps ______
 Hold myself accountable to the same standards I establish for others ______
Sub Total ______
Authenticity
 Engage in honest conversations ______
 Demonstrate company's values through my thoughts, words, intentions and actions ______
 Bring words and actions into alignment _____
Sub Total ______
Credibility
 Am trustworthy, believable ______
 Walk the talk _______
 Inspire confidence through my actions and behavior ______
Sub Total ______
Honesty
 Tell the truth ______
 Communicate simply, straightforwardly and consistently across the entire audience _____
 Say what I know, when I know it. If I don't know, I say so. If I can't tell, I say so ______
Sub Total ______
Integrity
 Follow through on commitments and promises _____
 Practice and promote alignment with the organization's values ______
 Take responsibility for my actions and act ethically ______
Sub Total ______
Respect
 Promote mutual trust and cooperation ______
 Inclusive _______
 Acknowledge and honor people's feelings and concerns ______
Sub Total ______
Transparency
 Am open ______
 Am visible ______
 Disclose information as needed _____
Sub Total ______
Grand Total (out of a total possible 150): ________
A score of 120 or higher indicates that you and/or members of your organization are strong in trustbuilding practices. A score of 60 or below represents a good starting point to creating an action plan for
developing trusting relationships that yield the highest performance.
For more information about building trust in communications, please contact Noreen Kelly at
[email protected]
References
J. Dallas, 2012, We Need to have a Word: words of wisdom, courage and patience for work, home and
everywhere, Hillview Partners Network LLC, Chicago, IL.
A. Golin, 2004, Trust or Consequences: build trust today or lose your market tomorrow, AMACOM,
American Management Association.
E. Schein, 2010, “The New Leadership Culture, Management and Helping,” Key Note Speech,
Bertlesmann Stiftung.