The New York 2011 Edelman Trust Barometer, an annual study that gauges attitudes about the level of trust in business, states that 56 per cent of the people believe that organisations are doing what is right. This is a slight increase compared to the previous survey in 2010 and is good news considering that trust is a pillar for, and an essential line in, any business. All things involving companies are rooted in trust: management behaviour based on trust steps up the influence at the workplace, thus guaranteeing success in terms of quality and speed into the market, with these two aspects being the two most important competitive weapons battling for the market share, and therefore the key to financial sustainability of the firm. Trust, along with transparency, also becomes an issue for corporate reputation, inspiring the common man in the street to trust the company’s brand and hence build on brand loyalty.
In fact, when the global financial system collapsed in 2008, companies were aware that one of the first steps towards recovery was to restore faith in business. Fortunately for companies damaged by troubled times, trust is an attribute in the corporate reputation that can be restored and rebuilt. However, this is only possible if the issue is managed in a sustainable way and always taking into consideration that trust should not be seen such a “soft” issue by leaders.
According to Stephen R. Covey, widely known as being one of the top leadership gurus, the basis of trust comes from leaders’ self-confidence whose key principle should be credibility. Dr Covey believes that “credibility” has to be the hallmark of any manager; however this cannot be bought but is grown out of character and developed by acquired competence. In the report entitled “Confidence in Leadership Q2/2010”, published by Korn/Ferry Institute, there is an indication that companies in Europe have to get cracking on the credibility issue because Europe registered a score of 71 in the credibility leadership index (100 being the best score), the worst among continents and, compared to the last index, there was a drop of five points.
Joe Gerada, CEO of the Foundation for Human Resources said that trust building has become a major issue for companies that want to keep ahead of competition and sustain a high standard of reputation in the market. In the last 18 months, requests from companies for assistance to manage the trust issue were one of the leading demands that were addressed by the Foundation. Companies discovered that credibility is a dividend that can change quickly into a tax if ignored.
Nevertheless, there is the philosopher’s stone that leaders can use in order to re-establish its golden credibility when it gets tarnished. “Speed of trust”, one of the classics referred to by Dr Covey, reveals that the four cores or steps to achieve valued credibility are: integrity, intent, capabilities and the ultimate results. Probably the first attribute is the trickiest to attain because integrity is supposed to be a constant in our character. In this respect, Dr Covey argues that leaders will, at the outset, manage well if they have the faculty to fill up their speeches with congruency and perform according to values and beliefs based on honesty and humility. Secondly, leaders have to openly show their intents and agendas when interacting with people because the resulting behaviour will help to remove any suspicion about their performance. The third core depends on the acquired training of management. Dr Covey includes capabilities such as talents, attitudes, skills, knowledge and style through which leaders can inspire confidence, and were trust is lacking to establish, extend and restore it. All these have to be used by managers to produce the fourth core: results. In that way, leaders will ensure achieving results that were actually promised. No more, no less.
By getting the right things done, leaders can generate a bank of positive reputation from employees and costumers alike, all of which will be translated into quality output and sales respectively.
Stephen Vella, HR Manager of Foster Clark Products, pointed out that there is yet another benefit that makes credibility more crucial than ever, namely when a company places a Vacancy advert. “When the company advertises a job vacancy, applicants should feel a desire to work for Foster Clark because it offers the best job conditions. When the company’s brand image reflects credibility, this will ensure that people consider Foster Clark as a first-class company to work for.” In this respect, it is important that in the current employment situation, a company’s credibility is the most significant value, as it is one of the ways of guaranteeing that the best professionals will apply for a post with that company.
Managers that inspire credibility show how the real power of credibility is a value that hard cash cannot buy. Credibility prospects for sales increases aspires for improvement in output quality; and inspires newcomers whether employees or customers. Consequently, credibility not only strengthens the trust building of the organisations, but also boosts tangible results and economic achievements. Leaders have to ponder on whether they are inspiring public opinion with their credibility. Just as if people were to ask, “Do they really deliver what they promise?” The answer to this has to obviously be YES.
Ms Soriano is a Spanish journalist at the Foundation for Human Resources Development