‘Businesses with a high-trust culture simply perform better’
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NEW DELHI: For organisations, the best and the only way to retain their best employees and keep them engaged is by building a high-trust culture, believes Paul J. Zak, author of Trust Factor: The Science Of Creating High-Performance Companies.
In an interview, Zak, who’s the director of the Center for Neuroeconomics Studies in the US, explains how organisations can build a high-trust culture and why it is essential. Edited excerpts:
What do you mean by a hightrust culture?
I spent eight years measuring brain activity while people worked to determine what makes some organisations perform at the highest levels. I found that there were two primary drivers of high performance: Trust and purpose.
The science I did developed a way to measure organisational trust without having to put electrodes on peoples’ heads or take their blood.
We then ran additional studies to identify the building blocks of organisational trust and identified eight factors that managers can influence to create a culture of trust.
These have an easy-to-remember acronym “oxytocin”, which stands for: Ovation, eXpectation, Yield, Transfer, Openness, Caring, Invest and Natural.
When the neurochemical oxytocin is released in the brain, we are motivated to work to help others—this is why teams that produce oxytocin in each other perform better.
How does organisational culture affect performance at work and in life?
In a nationally representative sample of working Americans, employees in the highest quartile of trust—compared to those in the lowest quartile— have 74% less chronic stress, 106% more energy at work, are 50% more productive, enjoy their jobs 60% more, are 50% more likely to stay with their employer over the next year, are 70% more aligned with their company’s purpose, report 56% more job satisfaction, and innovate 22% more.
Businesses with high-trust culture simply perform better because individuals are entrusted to do their best, are held accountable to do so, have the reliable support of teammates and supervisors, have effective work-life integration, have opportunities for professional and personal growth, and can be their authentic selves at work.
It is no surprise that in such a culture, people put their full energy into moving the organisation’s goals forward, want to stay with the same employer, and recommend their place of work to family and friends.
How can organisations create
RESEARCH SHOWS THAT LEADERS WHO ASK FOR HELP ARE MORE LIKELY TO GET ENTHUSIASTIC SUPPORT THAN THOSE WHO THREATEN THOSE AROUND THEM
and manage a hightrust culture?
Among the eight oxytocin factors, leaders should seek to affect the lowest factor first. If the lowest factor was, for example, Invest (true for most companies), then create opportunities for employees to grow professionally and personally.
This could include more conference travel, or creating peer-led “teach a colleague a skill” courses, allowing employees to set their own schedules, or many other ways to foster personal and professional growth.
Then, one lets this intervention work for 6-12 months and reassess organisational trust, its components, and relevant business outcomes.
The final step is to continue to run culture interventions every year.
You say vulnerability among leaders is a sign of strength. Could you please explain.
Research has shown that leaders who ask for help are more likely to get enthusiastic support than those who threaten those around them as motivation. It also shows that people want to help leaders who are competent but don’t claim to know everything.
When leaders are honest about the company’s goals and what they need help with, employees nearly always respond with high energy to improve outcomes.