Trust is a double-edged sword

Trust is key for the success of any organisation. But is it a Risk worth taking?

Once upon a time, there were two neighbours in a village. Shyam and Ghanshyam (names are fictional). Shyam and Ghanshyam while being neighbours were also good friends. One day, Shyam had to travel outside his village for some work. Shyam approached Ghanshyam to keep all his jewellery safe at his house while he was away and will collect it once he is back from his trip. 

Shyam comes back home after 3 months and meets up with Ghanshyam. He then asks Ghanshyam to hand over his jewellery that he gave to him, upon which Ghanshyam says- “Which Jewellery”? This devastates Shyam and leaves him with no option but to approach the the matter legally. 

He this his query to the village elders and requests them for a resolve. The village elders’ question Ghanshyam, however is plainly denies, post which they request a search of his house. And the Jewellery is found. 

Shyam at this moment approached Ghanshyam and asks, I trusted you and you betrayed my trust. To which Ghanysham says, If you did not trust me, how could I have betrayed you. 

While Trust is the key for the success of any organisation, it is a double-edged sword that everyone carries with them. 

So how do you create an environment that is based on Trust? 

Trust, in an organisation, can be found at many levels. 

• with your peers 
• with your teams
• with your manager
• with your Leadership

At any one of these levels trust can be developed or broken and if you have noticed it’s a Human thing. And is built on factors like 

• Walk the talk – Do what you say you can do
• Compassion – Keeping the interest of the person next to you
• Integrity – when you are equally committed to your statements
• Transparency – Keeping everything clear and in the open

In a typical employee lifecycle, there is a moment that come every 6 months that defines the trust factor of your organisation- yes, the appraisal cycle. This one instance changes the way an organisation, a manager, a team or an employee is perceived. And the conversation always starts – So what did you do in the last 6 months? – a question that is going to define your future based on retrospective situation. 

Trust, is a double-edged sword, and in the words of Ernest Hemingway – 

“The best way to find out if you can trust somebody is to trust them.”

Food for thought: If trust is key for the success of any organisation, how will organisations be successful if everything is automated?

The views and opinions published here belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the publisher.

Ankush Malhotra

Ankush is an adventurist by passion and a Communicator by profession. He specialises in Employee Engagement and Gamification techniques to build and drive organisation culture. With over 20 years of premeditated experience he has emerged as a thought leader canalising & creating path-breaking communications strategies.