Cultures of trust: Towards flexible and fearless organisations

A huge amount of potential is lost when we shut the door on people with caring responsibilities, children, disabilities, or who are active in contributing to community, social and environmental causes outside the workplace. Shifts towards embracing flexibility, giving people more control over their working hours, maternity and paternity rights, or policies like six-hour days or four-day working weeks, are gaining traction – not least because they boost diversity, productivity and wellbeing. But the success of these initiatives also depends on an organisational culture that is fundamentally founded on trust. 

Flexible working goes hand in hand with a redistribution of power and responsibility. It marks a shift away from hierarchy, control and a one-size-fits-all format for work, towards a networked organisation of people empowered with a degree of freedom and responsibility to manage their time, energy, objectives and commitments. 

Leaders need to trust that people will do this honestly and effectively, and staff need to trust that the expectations set for them are fair and transparent. Without this trust, organisations start to fall apart. When a team is founded on a culture of trust, flexible working isn’t even a question – people are able to contribute regardless of when they clock in.   

Trust opens us to all kinds of risks, but it’s also full of opportunity if we have the courage to lean in. Here are several pillars for building a culture of trust which offers the psychological safety we need to try new ways of working together, drawn from research into workplace thriving.

Decouple potential from circumstance

Often the needs behind flexible working are a cause of red flags for managers. The presence of children, caring responsibilities or other conditions and commitments in workers’ lives can be judged as a barrier to full commitment to a job. But this life experience also contributes to the talent, expertise, perspective, creativity and potential that people bring. 

We should be asking what value workers with rich life experience contribute precisely because of the multiple roles and experiences they offer. And how can we create win/win conditions where people can show up to work as their whole self? 

When people feel valued because of unique experiences and circumstances, their level of trust and psychological safety for showing up fully increases. Invite reflection on how people’s responsibilities outside the workplace contribute to their strengths and apply curiosity when exploring what kind of flexibility supports your team to work at their best.

Build common ground

To distribute power and create accountability in a flexible and/or dispersed team, people need to be clear about what's fundamentally important to your organisation. When your values, mission, goals and vision are transparent and relevant to your projects, products and daily tasks, you’re supporting people to take initiative, make decisions and communicate accordingly. 

When you encourage people to reflect on their values and actively seek alignment between them and those of your organisation, you create the possibility for people to find purpose and meaning in their work and feel part of something bigger. This generates motivation, energy and feelings of connection and togetherness, which are crucial for cohesion when teams are not physically present together.

Encourage fearless compassion

A trusting workplace is one where people are respectfully honest with one another, where they can communicate feelings, concerns, ideas, needs and boundaries authentically, clearly and fearlessly, while having compassion and respect for the right of others to do the same. 

The need for clear, non-violent communication grows when teams are flexible – working in different locations to different schedules. The first step to building this culture is for leaders to model it and encourage others to do the same. If, as a leader, you’re negotiating your needs and boundaries constantly to fix problems or ensure the organisation survives, you can be sure everyone else is doing the same – or taking advantage of the situation. 

Having the courage to say no, asking for what you need, making time to think and replenish your energy, admitting your mistakes, inviting reflection and learning when things don’t go as planned, being curious instead of defensive in the face of conflict, and asking for honest feedback – all of these contribute to a culture that builds trust, rather than passive aggression or avoidance.

Make space for feelings

Emotions have a bad rap in the workplace, but they hold wisdom that can be crucial to spotting and solving problems, improving products and working practices, and cultivating healthy and honest working relationships. 

Deepen your awareness of your own and others’ feelings. Check in with people, make the space to truly hear what’s going on, and encourage curiosity-led discussion that focuses on feelings, needs and responsibility, rather than judgment and blame. 

Be accountable

Set clear goals, expectations and agreements with your colleagues, and support one another to be accountable. If someone is missing deadlines consistently, review with them how to manage expectations and communication so that they're being realistic, to avoid slipping into shame-based strategies for coping with performance challenges.

Create opportunities to connect

With people working from home, different hours and days, it's easy for communication, team connectedness and rapport to slide. Be on the front foot with supporting your team to connect around weekly priorities, opportunities to creatively engage or input into each other’s work, feedback they want to give or receive, and social time to share and connect informally.

A ‘check in’ is a great way to do this. It’s simply an opportunity for people to acknowledge how they're feeling, or share a reflection in response to a question, as a means of ‘landing’ into a meeting or conversation and cultivating presence. 

Starting a meeting with a prompt like "What's one thing you'd like to let go of, and one intention for this meeting?" can give people the chance to feel heard and clear their heads before diving in. It's also a great chance to see what's going on and to take opportunities to support one another when you're not in the office together.

Move towards a coaching culture

Much of the above is supported by a coaching approach to leadership. Shifting from a directive style towards cultivating self-responsibility and initiative through opportunities for reflection and learning, open questions, non-judgemental active listening, and supporting people’s self-development on the job, goes a long way towards building the capacity and trust that makes flexible working an effortless transition.

Sholeh Johnston is a consultant, coach and author of ‘Feel Your Feelings: Thriving in the Cultural Workplace’. 
 www.thefield.consulting/feel-your-feelings 
@HowFascinating