People and Management October 2018 | Page 56

[FEATURE] TRUST A CRITICAL FACTOR FOR BUSINESS GROWTH Signifi cance of Trust Rakesh Seth Chief HR Mentor, Corporate Trainer, Author, and Visiting Faculty T he article briefl y discusses the importance of trust. If the trust-based culture is prevalent in an organisation, it is likely to grow faster than its competitors, while if the trust is missing, the organisational growth will be slow. Trust is invisible and can be felt in relationship and seen through the business results. Building trust-based culture for an organisation is a huge challenge. In this uncertain and disruptive world, the challenge is to establish, grow, and restore trust with all stakeholders — customers, co-workers, suppliers, bankers — is the key leadership competency of the new digital economy. 56 What is trust? I will take the opportunity to use words of Jack Welch. He said, “You know it when you feel it.” Simply put, trust means confi dence. The difference between a high-trust and low-trust relationship is noticeable. For example, take communication: in a high trust relationship, you can say the wrong thing and people will still get your meaning. In a low-trust relationship, you can be very precise, even measured, and they will still interpret you in their own way. With the emerging emphasis on ethics and results in our society, leaders in the organisations will be tested on three dimensions — character, competence, and commitment to build their credibility. Trust is created through results and results matter. In the words of Jack Welch, having results is like having ‘performance chits’ on the table, they give you clout. In the real world of business trust becomes a dividend and tax. Trust is important for people and organisational productivity. Without trust, you are | Vol. 9 Issue 6 • Sep-Oct 2018, Noida / Pre-Event Edition