Trust, Ethics and Organizational Performance
I’ve been thinking a lot about trust this month and the impact it has on business performance. Today, I had the opportunity to attend HR Tampa’s ethics presentation by Kate Shockey and was reminded how much ethics plays a role in building trust.
I’ve been honored to be a part of extremely difficult conversations when I see leaders driven to find the best solutions for others (customers, employees, etc.), knowing that the end result will not be good for all; but with the main goal of truly seeking to do the right thing with all those impacted being considered. I’ve also seen situations where trust was immediately lost; sometimes because of ineffective communicated or more often because decisions were made with only one group being considered.
How can ethics be part of your organization’s game plan, so that employees, venders, customers, candidates, and shareholders will be considered? Not always easy in a publicly traded organization where market share too often is the only goal. But, fortunately, there are many organizations who value the wellbeing (financial, safety, health, etc.) of all those impacted.
Yes, legal compliance is the minimum expectation of ethics. But what have you put in place to ensure ethical decision making when there is no clear right/wrong solution? Consider the person with less power, then reflect on conflict resolution practices. Consider when a customer specification was not fully met? How about when a team does not have trust in its leader because of ego-centric decision making? How about when we make mistakes? Ethics becomes evident when things are tough, not when decisions are easy.
Ethical leaders have values that reward honest, transparent, direct and compassionate behaviors.
Ethical leaders ask questions around ‘who / what is the impact’.
Ethical leaders create safe environments to bring concerns.
Ethical Leadership is not easy but is does build trust within relationships. And we know, trust impacts performance, retention, engagement, and problem-solving. High trust organizations deliver better financial performance.
Dr. Patti Sullivan is a leadership coach, working with executives in diverse organizations. For over 15 years, she has assisted leaders in challenging their limited beliefs, cultivating key relationships, finding ease in leading high performing teams, and delivering exceptional results.