Growth through trust

Dr. Burkhard Schwenker, Dr. Stefan Bötzel

2005

To reconcile the conflicting goals of growth and restructuring, companies need an integrative concept that employees and outsiders can easily identify with. Trust-based organization is such a concept. It motivates people by offering a sense of direction based on clear norms and standards and a concept that is visibly lived out - by management and employees. We expect more and more companies to switch to trust-based organizations in the next five to ten years. The change will be discernible in three main areas:

• The demands on managers will increase. Managers must exude con- fidence, optimism and, not least, courage. Managers must live out the company's standards with authenticity and credibility and be a angible presence in the companies they lead. In short, managers must be a practical example for their workforce.
• Corporate governance must become even more transparent. Sooner or later, the greater transparency called for in public debate and commissions in almost all countries of the Western world will become the minimum requirement.
• Internal and external communication must be fundamentally reviewed and realigned. Regardless of whether a company is addressing its investors, employees or customers, honesty and credibility will be of the essence and will be what determine corporate success.

Transforming a company into an organization based on trust is not an automatic process, and it is certainly no mean feat – but the clear benefits of the concept make it the only option. Companies that recognize this and start making the required changes now will profit the most and establish a clear competitive edge.