Theme 1: Trust

In this theme, we provide you an overview on trust and offer some exercices for you to consider, what is important to you as a leader/ potential leader in monitoring and promoting of trust. 

In construction, builders are familiar with the various physical forces that affect the building, and whose combined effect causes various phenomena. In the technical implementation, for example, different risk structures must be known, so that the structures remain dry and healthy and moisture cannot damage them.

Psychodynamics works in much the same way as building physics. The "forces" are the feelings of individuals, the sum of which forms an emotional world for the community, which is generally called the atmosphere. A good atmosphere is something we hope for from the community like sunshine for the weather. As surely as the next rain comes, there will be discord and tension between people, in the most serious cases even resentment and anger. However, unlike the weather, we can influence the atmosphere. If the negative emotions remain stuck in an unresolved mass, we speak of a state of mistrust. 

It's best to talk about feelings perceived as negative in a timely manner without offending the other person. This open way of acting should not be confused with negativity or wallowing in negativity. Even your home can be cleaned a little all the time without being noticed, or you can clean it with great effort once a year. People usually find the first option easier. In the world of construction, an unspoken working community is a kind of risk structure.

Emotions, behavior and thus the atmosphere are affected by many different factors. It is not essential to determine or analyze these in order to strengthen trust in everyday managerial work. The most important thing is to see what kind of behavior and what kind of operating methods best promote the work community's movement towards trust.

Trust has been studied a lot and defined in many different ways. Here we look at trust as a dynamic movement based on trust and mistrust, contract-based and identity-based trust.

In terms of dynamics, the level of trust experienced in the community can be seen moving between trust and mistrust. Put simply, good confidence feels like health; nothing at all. As soon as a distortion larger than a small scratch enters the system, a negative change is noticed and it starts eating energy. Trust can therefore also be viewed through what it is not, i.e. as features of mistrust. Your work community is constantly on the line (picture above) between trust and mistrust. The biggest single factor that moves the dynamic towards trust is a shared commitment to a mutually agreed upon culture of good interaction. As a leader, you are not responsible for the behavior of others, but with your own awareness and example, you are the cornerstone of good development.

Harisalo and Miettinen (2010) have described the breakdown of trust in the world of mistrust as different stages. The first thing that appears in the atmosphere is a hard-to-define feeling of unpleasantness. This makes people watch their actions and words. At first, mistrust is difficult to tackle because it is still relatively invisible. People start avoiding each other's company and talking about difficult topics. They identify the causes, consequences, people and groups behind the things they perceive as negative. Due to the difficult recognition of the initial stage, the development of mistrust can continue. Later, people's conflicting interests become clearer and mistrust becomes visible. Tensions between groups become open. Opposites are difficult to reconcile. People criticize each other and even attack each other in response. As the unfavorable development continues, people become unwilling to bear the responsibility of managing common affairs. People don't put in the effort, let alone make sacrifices, because they don't feel they are getting a fair reward and attention for their work. If others succeed in avoiding responsibilities, you will start doing so yourself. At its most dramatic, the perception of mistrust takes away the prerequisites for success from all work, eats away at efficiency and even harms financial success.

The thought bubbles in the picture can be thought of as some kind of meters or indicators of where we are going. "Contract-based trust" is a typical state for work communities, where the members of the work community feel that they are getting a real reward for their efforts. "I scratch your back, if scratch mine"

Identity-based trust is deeper than contract-based trust. There, an emotional bond deepens trust and helps the parties identify with each other's intentions and goals. Mutual understanding of each other's intentions and valuing each other's goals and wishes motivates people to work for each other.

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Task:

Please consider what trust means to you and shortly describe in a chat box 

1) What do you consider to be features that are connected to trustworthy leaders? 

2) What kind of procedures and activities in the work community you think might harm trust?