Written by: Léa Agbo, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
Managers are responsible for formulating strategic plans for the growth and development of the organisation. And usually, they are faced with certain fundamental questions, like, 'how to develop the performance and commitment of my team(s) in order to boost productivity and responsiveness?'.
This is where management by trust arises. Without trust, nothing is possible. Factually, financial incentive mechanisms, rewards for merits and other ‘table football rooms’ have reached their limits. Though they can have an impact, these are only temporary and don't directly affect individuals’ motivation on a long term.
Many studies have shown that a lack of trust within the structures leads to measurable losses on the productivity and economic results of the company. Thus, the lack of trust is a real threat to the growth of organisations. But what does neuroscience tell us about this subject?
1. Transparency: The basis of trust
Opacity generates mistrust. Indeed, our brain is wary of what it does not know. This is why regular exchanges and debates are sources of multiple enrichment.
Knowing strategic information, sharing issues and suggestions, and knowledge of real constraints are ways to encourage and improve collective intelligence. Such intelligence is useful and very effective for developing trust within a group, thus leading to organisational growth and development.
2. Encourage personal development
In the classic system, skills development is the prerogative of HR and training managers. However, soft skills development produces much better effects in the long term.
As a matter of fact, the most successful companies offer skills development systems for individuals. Coaching, specific tests or even targeted assessments are all the tools used to make everyone know themselves better and build their own career path within the company itself.
Neuroscience has shown that our brain had a natural thirst for learning and progress since our earliest childhood. Giving credit to development and self-knowledge tools are excellent ways to restore self-confidence, also confidence in others and to considerably improve performance.
3. Practice autonomy
One of the most significant levers that the manager can use to show his/her confidence in employees is, of course, to provide them with sufficient autonomy. This self-managerial responsibility granted to the members of a team makes it possible to promote innovation and, at the same time, the reduction of control reinforces the feeling of trust. The position and posture of the manager then evolve towards the status of a mentor.
Inevitably, there will always be mistakes. This is why the establishment of experimentation places is another means of allowing everyone to reduce this risk. Adhering to and integrating an experimentation process is in fact the only way to allow the expression of disruptive thought conducive to innovation.
4. Cultivate self-determination
Changes in positions and careers are definitely more rooted in our motivations and desire than initial (technical) skills. Our brain is so made that when we are connected to our intrinsic motivations, we are unfailing; we learn without being discouraged.
Thus we progress much more quickly because when we are in our primary motivations, the simple fact of doing gives us pleasure, and of course, external artificial reward systems can't compete with this. These motivations become more durable. In other words, they are inscribed in our deep nature; they are not subject to shortness of breath. This is of paramount importance for the mutual benefit of the person and the company.
5. Have the right to be fully yourself
The concept of wholeness is growing in companies. Accepting to feel is what makes you feel confident in a group. The fear of rejection is a primary fear of our brain and a question of survival written in our genes. Structures and companies that ensure that one can feel whole in the professional environment pave the way for the creation of a deep sense of trust.
This reinforces more desire for a corporate spirit and, of course, the involvement in the company's life and its productivity.
Conclusion
Therefore, the development of trust is not mechanical; it is rather an issue of trust, and the developing a trust culture that also concerns all of the company's functions.
The successful implementation of these changes requires an initial awareness that trust is a means that we can't do without while facing the challenges arising from changes in our professional environments.
So, management by trust brings interests and values together in the context of a concrete human situation. The bet is that adding these micro-decisions daily in this way – responsible, autonomous, self-determined by a team member the organisation who has trusted to assess the situation – will ultimately compose a very profitable and appreciated optimum.
Léa Agbo, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Léa is an entrepreneur and infopreneur, a certified coach in positive psychology, and a specialist in cross-cultural business. With over 10 years of experience in personal development, her focus is for you to become a better version of yourself.
A wide range of clients, including entrepreneurs, require her services to smoothly optimize their lives and/or business projects, have more confidence and energy to pursue their goals, and build real, constructive, and consistent self-esteem.
She specifically coaches entrepreneurs on the cross-cultural aspects of their businesses and is the author of the ‘Globalisation Programme.’
Léa holds a master’s degree in Strategic Business Management and Entrepreneurship. She is also a Certified Operational Manager. Léa is the Founder of AGBO Business Consulting, a company aiming to challenge you to the next level.
