Building Organizations on the Basis of Trust

It’s often taken for granted that every interaction between people, professionally or personally, is undergirded by trust. From the reliability sought for by HR personnel during job interviews to the life-or-death scenarios in military operations, trust shapes relationships between people. With many workplaces being redefined by the circumstances this year, trust in this new practice and a new environment is essential to get us through.

A military leader, thought leader, motivational speaker, and commercial pilot, Lieutenant Colonel Jason O Harris is a staunch believer that every organization is its people at the heart of every organization. For an organization to work cohesively and efficiently, an organization’s culture needs to be built on trust, whether it’s the trust between the leaders and the people, or the people with each other.

Jason has come up with several trust models to help organizations improve their levels of trust in the workplace. Jason’s no-fail model talks about trusting the training, the process, and the organization’s people. And while training and processes might continuously be shifting, especially in today’s environment, the people are constant. And this is where Jason’s CARGO model comes in.

C FOR CREATIVITY

The workplace trends might always be changing, but if there’s one thing that doesn’t change, it’s that the creativity of the human mind can never be replaced. This is why Jason believes that it’s important for a leader to see someone beyond their job description and allow their creativity to roam free.

“We have people that are so sharp, so amazing, so talented, so skilled, hence why you hired them to begin with, but they have skills, talents, and abilities that go above and beyond that basic job description. And if we take time to allow them to utilize that creativity, they’re going to solve a lot of our problems… If we never unleash their creativity, then we’ve missed an opportunity to truly allow our people to be their best selves in the workplace.”

A FOR ACCESS

If you’re ready to unleash your people, you’ve got to make sure they’re properly armed. Part of Jason’s CARGO model is making sure your people have gained access to the right resources and tools. These could be physical tools of the trade or even tools such as access to databases or open communication lines.

“Gallup did some research and found that a lot of employees felt they did not have the appropriate tools and the appropriate resources to do their job… You do some more research and find that a lot of times, those tools, those resources were not very expensive if there was even any cost at all. Beyond that, we found that some organizations already had the tools and resources, and their people just weren’t told where they were at.”

R FOR RESPONSIBILITIES AND ROLES

Leaders need to know clearly what their responsibilities and roles are and those of the organization. In turn, leaders need to be able to communicate and explain clearly what their employees’ responsibilities and roles are. Jason talks about how many miscommunications in organizations often stems from the misunderstanding of duties and roles.

“If we don’t spend the time to have the conversation with them if we don’t spend the time to explain to them what their role and their actual responsibility is, then it’s going to be more challenging for them to actually be responsible for that task at hand, but yet we’re holding them responsible for it… There’s a responsibility element that’s on the side of the leader, and there’s a responsibility element that’s on the side of the people that we, as the leaders, have to ensure that we give to them, that we give to them with clarity, with a level of expectation and a level of trust that creates empowerment as well as intent that allows them to show up and be their best fullest self possible.”

G FOR GOALS

Setting your goals doesn’t only mean the organization’s goals or the short and long-term goals of a job. Both leaders and employees need to know each other’s goals. This clarifies where both leaders and employees are responsible for helping each other.

Beyond that, it’s essential to know your employee’s personal goals. If they’re honest enough with you to admit that they only see their time with you as a stepping stone, then you can at least be challenged to make the best out of that time to turn them into the best employee they can be.

Jason advises to “[never miss] an opportunity to communicate, and [never miss] an opportunity to build trust and rapport with people for them to bring their best selves to the job.”

O FOR OPPORTUNITIES

By opportunities, Jason means the opportunity to celebrate the small wins daily, weekly, or even monthly. Leaders need to be able to keep up morale and hope, and the best way to do that is to showcase those winning moments along your road to success.

“If we don’t create these opportunities to succeed, if we don’t show them where they’re winning at… they’re going to feel like they are never winning. They will feel like they are just here, going through the motions, on this treadmill of life, this perpetual treadmill. They take pride in winning. They take pride in ownership, and it changes who they are…”

SUMMARY

Trust is a key concept in any personal interaction, and therefore essential to any work environment. Jason Harris’ CARGO model highlights five critical ideas for trust to be established fully in an organization and for employees to become their best selves.

• Allow for Creativity to flourish and the potential to be unleashed.
• Access to the right resources must be ensured.
• Responsibilities and roles must be clarified between two parties.
• Goals should be shared between both employer and employee.

Opportunities and winning moments, no matter how small, should be celebrated and applauded.

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