Archive for category Trust
Building Trust Between Employees and Management
Posted by Dominic Giammarinaro in Leadership, Management, Performance, The Ken Blanchard Companies, Trust on May 27, 2010
A recent article in The Public Manager discusses the issue of employee-management relations in the federal workplace. They talk about how building trust between these two groups can lead to greater workplace flexibility and increased performance.
On May 20, The Ken Blanchard Companies conducted a webinar entitiled, Trust: The Critical Link to a High Energy Workplace. During this webinar, Blanchard conducted a poll and asked the audience how many of them had left a previous job because of trust issues. Surprisingly, 59% of the people said they had!
Trust expert Cindy Olmstead recommends thinking about four core elements represented in the ABCD Trust Model™ that people can use to evaluate whether someone is trustworthy or not. How would the people in your agency rate their leaders in these four areas?
Able—demonstrates competence, expertise, experience, and capability in getting the desired results accomplished
Believable—walks the talk of a core set of values, demonstrates honesty, and uses fair, equitable practices
Connected—interacts with staff, communicates and shares relevant information, provides praise, and gives recognition
Dependable—is accountable, takes responsibility for own actions, and consistently follows up
Once employees and management assume the best of each other, it creates a more trusting atmosphere and ultimately greater performance and satisfaction at work.
Follow this link to learn more about Trust: The Critical Link to a High Energy Workforce.
Working Virtually—Challenges and Benefits
Posted by Dominic Giammarinaro in Communication, Government, Ken Blanchard, Leadership, Leadership Development, Performance, Productivity, Teams, Technology, Telework, Trust, Virtual on April 22, 2010
By Ruth Anne Randolph
With the blizzard that hit the Washington DC area earlier this year, estimates of the cost of lost productivity among federal government agencies totaled $550,000,000 for one lost week. When people cannot physically get to their offices, current technology offers multiple options to allow staff to continue to work from home. Recently, I talked with a client who wasn’t in her office because of the blizzard, then a personal illness, for three weeks in February. Yet, she was productive because her agency was set up for teleworking.
Why is teleworking not more wide-spread in the federal government? It is beginning, but government is not leading the way. If teleworking were more established, this loss of productivity would definitely be mitigated.
What holds government agencies back? Lack of trust and accountability are big hang-ups, our clients tell me. Can we address these hurdles? Absolutely. The virtual work world has to be structured with more intentional support and clear direction because people do not have the safety net of informal communications. Expectations must be crystal clear, with milestones and check-ups more defined.
As Ken Blanchard says, “As a manager, the important thing is not what happens when you are there, but what happens when you are not there.”
What ideas do you have on building trust and ensuring accountability? How can government agencies maintain productivity while staff telework?
Can we look at the blizzard of 2010 as an opportunity to open the door to new approaches to improve performance and worker satisfaction even when it is 70 degrees?
Government Roundtable Issues #4
Posted by Jim Atwood in Communication, Employee Engagement, Silos, Teams, The Ken Blanchard Companies, Transparency, Trust, Vision on June 25, 2009
At The Ken Blanchard Companies Government Roundtable in Washington DC, attendees were asked to participate in a table discussion on an issue of importance. Below is the fourth and final set of consolidated notes from each table discussion.
Issue 4—Employee Engagement
What are the top 3 to 5 ways that your table team identified how Employee Engagement impacts productivity and/or morale?
• Negative morale—Impacts productivity
• Not fully engaged—Not using all your resources
• Communication—Suggestions
• Misconceptions—Goals and outcomes
• Lack of engagement—Leads to fear
• Employee engagement increases ownership
• Engagement increases morale & productivity
• Transparency
• Engaged employees leads to trust and mutual respect
• Engaged employees understand the bigger picture/bigger vision
What are the top 3 strategies and/or activities your table team identified that can be employed to enhance Employee Engagement? What are the top 3 activities that should be avoided to prevent a decrease in Employee Engagement?
Enhance:
• Communication
–As open as you can be
–Be open to other ideas
• Work with change agents
• Building Trust
• Engage yourself
• Keep your commitments
• Engagement–motivates everyone
• Seek employee input
• Provide interaction opportunities
• Transparency/open door policy
• Climate surveys – are they using them
• Group challenges for improvement
• Involve the people who prepare sound changes
• Builds awareness
• Dedicated weekly time/Open agenda
Avoid:
• Get people to get out of their comfort zones
• Decrease miscommunication
• Creating silos
• Restrictive chain-of-command
• Lack of communication
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