Give Trust A Chance

Yesterday on my way back home after seeing the doctor, I stopped at a medical store to buy the prescribed drugs. Though I didn't have enough money with me, I decided to take a chance by requesting for credit if I fell short.

"116 rupees, Sir".. the storekeeper said to me. I had only Rs. 70/- with me.
"I will come back with the balance amount," I told him as I took the medicines and made the part payment.
"Ok", he said.

This was really strange to me. Strange for the following reasons
1) He didn't personally know me other than the fact I was one of the locals. We were both as good as strangers to each other.
2) He didn't even ask me for name or personal details, just in case I didn't turn up.
3) I rarely shopped for medicines at the medical store.
4) No other questions were asked or any other information was exchanged.

Though I did return to pay the balance amount, what happened got me thinking.

He trusted me. The rupees 46 balance was just an amount or may be even a number. But the trust he put in me bestowed me with the responsibility of not only returning the money but reciprocating the trust. Now, if this is a wonder trust can do between two strangers, just imagine what it can do in organizations where people get to know each other over a period of time.

Unfortunately, many organizations have belied the wonders that can be achieved by trusting their employees. That's because of the absence of the trust factor amongst the people who lead and their teams. There's always a room for a doubt or suspicion of the employee's motives..likewise there should also be a room for trusting the employee. This room for trust should foster a sense of responsibility and accountability between the manager and his team, the organizations and its employees.

A few organizations have started taking a steps in this direction with unlimited leave policy (HubSpot), every employee as an insider (Athenahealth), sharing of financial data and key information with employees (HCL Technologies) only to realize that employees reciprocated with increased productivity and trust. Though such initiatives come with their own set of challenges, it's definitely worth to give trust a chance.

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