Do You Trust Your People?

I read a great quote from Ernest Hemingway recently.

"The best way to find out if you can trust somebody is to trust them."

This is so simple, yet profound. In a sense, trust is an act of faith, but also of hope, expectation, and respect.

Most people will not let us down if we give them a challenge they care about and can meet---and if we make the objectives clear. Many leaders never give people a chance to find out. Processes are developed so that chimpanzees can follow them, yet reality always strays, as we know. And every person is unique.

Instead, if we focused more on clear objectives and training, better use of checklists, and selective standardization, we'd be able to take that leap and find out just how much we can trust people. Likely, we'll see better productivity, higher morale, and more satisfied customers. Trust me.