Introduction

The workplace of today is composed of human beings, technology, and (office) space with some amenities like kitchen area, resting area, free coffee or even “free” lunch (if you are lucky), and so forth… However, is our workplace today a HumanE Workplace? In short, at a HumanE Workplace you see human beings who are not perfect but who are accepted and integrated even though of their (and our all) imperfections. At the HumanE Workplace, human beings are allowed to be imperfect, to make mistakes, to learn from mistakes, to ask for help, to be supported to grow, to build trustworthy relationships, and to be encouraged to lean in and share in their pursuit to work for the common company (workplace) goals and objectives.

The workplace is usually a highly social place. Human beings with different roles, backgrounds, status in the hierarchy, subject matter expertise, and so forth, interact with each other and have some sort of a working relationship. In this blog, I focus on building trustworthy relationships at the workplace that will also lead to a more HumanE Workplace.

Story

Ken Blanchard, Cynthia Olmstead, and Martha Lawrence published a book in 2013 with the title Trust Works: Four Keys to Building Lasting Relationships. The authors propose the “ABCD Trust Model^TM” that provides the language and tools to build trust and resolve trust issues.

The premise is the following: At the workplace we enter into relationships with our co-workers and colleagues. A key factor of successful relationship is building a relationship that is based on trust or being trustworthy. Relationship and trust are based on behavior. So, Blanchard et al identified with the ABCD Trust Model^TM four elements of trust – Able (= demonstrate competence), Believable (= act with integrity), Connected (care about others), and Dependable (maintain reliability). Each element comes with seven behaviors that help us to “measure” or “identify” how trustworthy we are related to each element.

Elements of Trust

The following table provides an overview of each element and related behavior:

Let’s take a look at some sample behaviors and how to read the table above. For example, for the element “Able – Demonstrate Competence” we can start with the following assumptions:

• People show they are able when they have the expertise needed for their job, role, or position.
• They consistently achieve results and are effective problem solvers and decision makers.
• Demonstrating competence inspires others to have confidence and trust in you.

You can assess the competence (or being able) by observing and also measuring the seven listed behaviors. You can identify with each behavior so-called Trust Busters and Trust Boosters. For example, for the first listed behavior “Get Quality Results”, trust busting behavior would be missing deadlines, sloppy or incomplete work. Trust boosting behavior would show quality results, reliable and predictable (work) delivery.

A few things to remember

First, you are not in your A-game every day; look for behavior patterns or consistency. Are you consistently missing deadlines (trust buster) or consistently delivering quality results (trust booster)? Trust boosters come with consistency in putting effort into growing your ability or showing the “positive” side of the behavior in question.

Second, take a closer look at each behavior (of each element) and understand what they mean. Identify trust busting and trust boosting behaviors. Discuss this with your colleagues, friend, partner to find a common understanding. Start observing, be mindful of your behavior.

Third, adjust the list of behaviors according to your team member composition. If your team members come from diverse cultural and ethnical backgrounds, adjust your list of behaviors and consider the specific cultural and ethnical nuances when it comes to showing trust busting and trust boosting behaviors. This is an important step to be inclusive in your trust assumptions.

Fourth, you can “measure” and assess your trustworthiness with an “easy” survey. For example, ask yourself or your peers the following question: “In my role as software developer, how often do I deliver (get) ‘quality results’? Tell me on a scale of ‘Hardly Ever’, ‘Sometimes’, ‘Often’, ‘Very Often’, or ’Always’.”  When you apply this question to all seven behaviors for each element, you can sum up the responses and see where you land in your trustworthiness assessment for each element. That also tells you what behaviors you could “improve”.

Conclusion

This is just a quick introduction to the ABCD Trust Model^TM. Building trust takes time and requires courage. Building and maintaining trust is work. The ABCD Trust Model^TM translates the complex topic of trust into a simplified framework that everyone can use to build trustworthy relationships.

Once we understand the language and tools to build trust and trustworthy relationships, let’s apply this in the workplace. Start talking about behaviors that are trust boosters and help create trustworthy, respectful, and healthy relationships. Being trustworthy and being able to develop trust in the social workplace environment is critical in establishing and living in a HumanE Workplace.

Working files to download:

Workshop presentation file to download:

If you want to learn more about how to work with the ABCD Trust Model^TM at the work place and how to tailor the Trust Works framework to meet the specific cultural and diversity composition of your team(s), contact Riesling Consulting for more information