Connections Radio interview

Geoff Hudson-Searle was interviewed by Louisa “Wizzi” Magnussen on Connections Radio on subject of ”The Business of Trust.”

The best business leaders begin by framing trust in economic terms for their companies. When an organisation has low trust, the economic consequences can be huge. Everything will take longer and everything will cost more because the organisation has to compensate for the lack of trust it commands. These costs can be quantified and when they are, leaders suddenly recognise that low trust is not merely a social issue. It becomes an economic matter. The dividends of high trust can also be calculated and this can help leaders make a compelling business case for trust.

The best leaders focus on making the creation of trust an explicit objective. Like any other goal, it must be measured and improved. One of the best ways to do this is to make an initial baseline measurement of organisational trust and then to track improvements over time.

It’s clear from the news that the leaders of some of our most influential governments and corporations are making morally questionable decisions. These decisions will lose the trust of society, customers and employees. No amount of electronic communication – staff intranet, corporate social media, marketing emails – will fix this, yet many organisations assume this can replace meaningful dialogue even though this is the only real means of building trust and high-functioning relationships.

The true transformation starts with building credibility at the personal level. The foundation of trust is your own credibility, and it can be a real differentiator for any leader. A person’s reputation is a direct reflection of their credibility and it precedes them in any interactions or negotiations they might have. When a leader’s credibility and reputation are high, it enables them to establish trust quickly. Speed goes up, the cost goes down.

Link: https://wiz-media.co.uk/2023/06/01/the-business-of-trust/