What Works: Trust, consistency and communication

I was in yoga class this morning and the key idea was trust. As I moved and stretched, I remembered to trust my body and trust myself to go only as far as I could go. As a communication consultant, I start thinking about this as it relates to leadership. Trust, consistency, and communication all play a major role in relationships. And the relationships you spend the most time in are the ones at work. How can you improve these three key components of satisfaction within your organization?

First, trust, consistency, and communication may not come in that order. Communication becomes the cornerstone of the process. It also acts as the mortar between the other stones. Trust, or the building of trust, happens with consistent, well-communicated, actions. Consistency is what creates the structure. Ever heard, “practice what you preach?” Of course, you have. Consistency is adhering to what you say you are going to do, in every aspect of your business.

Develop a culture of communication: Communication stops when communication has a consequence. Imagine you see something wrong within your company. Expressing yourself results in ridicule or punishment. How likely are you to raise red flags in the future? Soon, you may be walking on eggshells. You become anxious. You leave the company. Or worse, you begin to float and “phone it in.”

In mass, this can be deadly to a company. Breakdowns in communication and interaction between human resources can kill productivity and innovation. Open up, make it safe for others to do it too. You will see how communication can give birth to ideas, change, and opportunity for growth.

Be consistent: Consistency is not all about policy. I have run into more than a few clients that say, “of course, we are consistent, we have policies.” While policies are there for a reason, human consistency is what I am talking about. In other words, work to not change your outer enased on your inner state. I call this “taking emotional hostages.” Even in a culture of communication, reactivity to communication can create instability. This can feel unsafe. As leaders, we must always be mindful on how we handle our inner storms. Inner storms that result in outer action impact our teams and organizations. Inconsistency is tantamount to laying bricks and then deciding to lay down straw in place of a brick. Your house won’t be very strong.

Cultivate trust: You cultivate trust when communication meets consistency. You feel like your team “has your back.” It’s because they do. You can go through all the ropes courses or team building exercises in the world and miss the point. If you expect someone to do something and they do it, you will trust them to do it when it matters.

In other words, it’s ok to preach (and allow others to preach). But practice what you preach with consistency to develop a culture of trust. It all starts with YOU.

How do you develop communication, consistency, and trust in your teams and relationships? The floor is yours, Carson City.

ABOUT DIANE DYE HANSEN
Diane Dye Hansen has more than 20 years of experience in communication and change management gained in the sectors of government, non-profit, healthcare, publishing, advertising, entertainment, and technology. Her Critical Opportunity Theory helps organizations and leaders turn challenge into opportunity through proper leadership and team communication.
She is the president and founder of What Works Consultants, Inc., a consulting firm which helps business leaders communicate when communication is hard. This is done through research, strategic communication planning, change management consulting, human resources recruitment and training. She is a columnist on CarsonNow.org. To meet her and learn how she and her team can help your company, visit What Works Consultants, Inc. online at www.whatworksconsultants.com.