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Increase trust, reduce fear

“The most critical challenge for any organization is to enlarge the circle of trust.”

Command-and-control systems reflect a deep mistrust of employees’ commitment and competence. They also tend to overemphasize sanctions as a way of forcing compliance. That’s why so many organizations are filled with anxious employees who are hesitant to take the initiative or trust their own judgment. Organizational adaptability, innovation, and employee engagement can only thrive in a high-trust, low-fear culture. In such an environment, information is widely shared, contentious opinions are freely expressed, and risk taking is encouraged. Fear paralyzes, mistrust demoralizes—they must be wrung out of our management systems.

124 Stories
236 Hacks
22 Barriers

Increase trust, reduce fear

“The most critical challenge for any organization is to enlarge the circle of trust.”

Command-and-control systems reflect a deep mistrust of employees’ commitment and competence. They also tend to overemphasize sanctions as a way of forcing compliance. That’s why so many organizations are filled with anxious employees who are hesitant to take the initiative or trust their own judgment. Organizational adaptability, innovation, and employee engagement can only thrive in a high-trust, low-fear culture. In such an environment, information is widely shared, contentious opinions are freely expressed, and risk taking is encouraged. Fear paralyzes, mistrust demoralizes—they must be wrung out of our management systems.

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This is the story of a Colombian based engineering company that grew from 60 people in 2006 to over 1000 by 2012.
Story by Peter King on June 24, 2013
Good questions generate thought, focus, and action from the listener. They also convey respect. Is it any wonder that 95% of leaders prefer to be asked questions rather than told what to do?
Hack by Gary Cohen on October 15, 2010
This hack considers how organisational capability might be unleashed by increasing the level of trust between employer and employee, borrowing from some of the concepts of Tikanga Maori and simply doi
Hack by Alister McCaw on February 25, 2011
The meetings we endured and designed, added to frustrations and stress in an already caustic work place.
Story by Ellen Weber on July 31, 2010
Decision-makers. Executive teams. Champions. These groups are vital to making change work. However, if you don’t include the larger group, you miss out.
Hack by Tricia Emerson on January 20, 2011
CoP's are "a group of people organized for a specific purpose around a shared set of values; who collectively care deeply about the purpose, adhere to the shared values and are selfless in their pursu
Co-Authored By Alex Perwich
For the past 3 years, Deloitte has been hosting an enterprise social network, D Street, to build connections, enable collaboration and foster innovation across the organization.  This y
Story by Patricia Romeo on December 4, 2010
AAU4M stands for Agony Aunts & Uncles for Managers.
Hack by Madhusudan Rao on August 2, 2010
Culture change is hard.  Whatever the approach, its a long term proposition riddled with ambiguity.  If your tasked with leading a culture change initiative and are struggling with
Hack by David Graham IV on June 29, 2017

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