Workplace Success and the Power of Trust and Genuine Relationships

In my twenties, when I was first starting out as a young and inspiring professional, I began reading book after book about how to be successful in business. Some books focused on confidence, others on leadership. There were books about fish and frogs and other animals. Many years later I think I have discovered two ingredients to success – at least my success. They don’t come from books, but instead, they come from within yourself. The ability to form long-lasting, genuine relationships and to gain the trust of others around you are the most important factors in making a workplace and yourself successful.

Ideal Workplace Relationships

Wouldn’t you rather spend all that time at work with co-workers and colleagues who are honest, reliable and trustworthy? I surely would. The ideal workplace doesn’t have to be in one setting, but it can be across cities or states. Many companies now operate virtual offices with employees working from home on their computers. What is most important, is the personal connection with one another, no matter the distance involved. Workplace relationships are vital for the company as a whole and for you as an individual seeking success. It is, after all, very difficult to be successful alone. We can reach higher goals if we are engaged in good, healthy and genuine relationships.

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The Importance of Trust

A wise person once told me “It is far better to be trusted than to be loved”. I believe this and it makes sense. If one cannot be trusted, how can they be loved? Trust in the workplace means having faith in your coworkers and colleagues. It involves a level of confidence and being able to rely on them. Trust also means you can depend on people to come through for you when you need them to. Trusting people means you care for them, have hope in them and can predict how they will act most of the time.

Benefits of Trust in the Workplace

While this article can’t list every benefit of trust in the workplace, some of the most important benefits include:

Higher employee retention
Reduced turnover
Reduce absenteeism
Higher quality of care
Improved job satisfaction
Creativity and innovation
Confidence in the workplace
High degree of personal involvement
Greater commitment
Personal success
Organizational success
Enhanced communication
Better relationships
Transparency
Improved collaboration and teamwork

See what I mean? This list is pretty long, but not entirely comprehensive. One thing to take away from this article is this – it takes quite a while to develop trust between people. It takes time and kept promises. And, it only takes a few seconds to entirely destroy it. To me, trust and being genuine are the only way to go. Be yourself. Be honest. Communicate clearly. As my wife reminds me when I get a little to wordy with explanations, “Say what you mean and mean what you say”.

Final Words on Workplace Success and the Power of Trust and Genuine Relationships

Sometimes the best things in life really are free… and simple. When things get stressful or overwhelming in my life, I always go back to the basics and you can’t get any more basic than being genuine and building trusting relationships. Even though we all have relationships that may have gone south at some point in a relationship, it’s never too late to exercise forgiveness. We put in a lot of hours at work. We have to interact with numerous people all week long. Would it be nice to be yourself and trust those around you?

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