One time, back in the 1990s, a speakers’ agent sent me a speaking contract with some of the most oppressive terms I’d ever seen. It effectively implied that I was not trustworthy, requiring that I confirm, verify, and comply with every imaginable restriction or requirement. It was shocking because I regularly dealt with the world’s top speaker agencies, and none of them had such rigid requirements. But this was a “live” contract – a booking with dates, fees, and signatures.
Offended by the lack of trust, I added an addendum with an equally restrictive set of terms, from my point of view. Childish on my part, perhaps, but I was miffed!
The agency owner called me and said, “How dare you!” I replied, “All I did was the reverse of what you did. Why did you add such draconian terms?” She replied, “I’m sorry. I had just been ripped off by an unprofessional, dishonest speaker, so I wrote new terms to protect myself. You don’t deserve that. I trust you. Let’s use the same contract as in the past.” From that point, everything went fine, but it could have ended our professional relationship.
How does this story apply to you and your team? If you’re like most companies, you have a set of policies or rules that guide day-to-day operations. These usually specify what everyone is expected to do or to avoid doing. However, the company policies often reveal what the owner was feeling and thinking when they were crafted. Do you require lots of proof and scrutiny to assure that your people are honest, responsible, and professional?
Do your rules imply that your people would steal from you, waste your resources, lie about their work hours, neglect their duties, or be irresponsible with sensitive information?
What do your policies say about how much you trust your team? If you don’t trust them, I’d strongly recommend replacing them. Trust is the fabric from which relationships are woven. Without trust, there is only control and supervision. It’s not fun nor satisfying to work in an untrusting environment. Remember, people don’t quit their jobs or leave companies; they quit employers. It’s the person they’re seeking to get away from, not the company. So, if you don’t trust each other, maybe you should start over.
If you do trust them, how much do you trust them? Remember Ronald Reagan’s famous line, “Trust, but verify”? Open-ended relationships that are not confirmed with some form of mutual understanding or agreement remain vulnerable to wrong interpretation. Agreements are great but make them only as strict as necessary.
The same is true with my team members. When I hired them, I said, “I trust you enough to become an ongoing part of my business family. I trust you to be around my money, records, supplies and resources, tools, customers, team members, and prospective customers. I trust you to wear my company’s name on your uniform, carry my company’s business card in your pocket, and be seen as a person who represents me.”
That is a LOT of Trust! But I still require them to keep expense receipts, be responsible with equipment and tools, keep accurate records of their activities, and more. This isn’t because I don’t trust them. It’s because they haven’t yet shown me enough evidence to justify putting my business and reputation at risk without knowing they’ve done the right things.
To the world at large, your people are you. They’re the company – not your location, brand name, or fixed assets. That’s why your connection with each of them is vital. The mutual commitment to serving your customers makes your company what it is. That bond lives in the trust you’ve built with them.
Make sure that the objective of your rules, policies, and employment agreements is to build greater trust. Avoid anything that conveys a lack of trust. In God, we trust; all others must earn it. Let’s help them do just that.
