Establishing a Foundation of Trust Across all Generations

These days, trust seems like a moving target in corporate leadership. When you gain the trust of one group, you lose the trust of another. This can happen between your sales, technical, and accounting teams — it can even happen along generational lines.

The good news is that it doesn't have to be that way. You can start establishing trust from the ground up, regardless of any individual or group differences in your organization.

The Foundation of the Organization's Culture: The Leaders

When I say "from the ground up" I'm speaking in terms of culture. Organizational culture is something that everyone throughout the group understands and owns. However, its foundation is in a leadership team that walks the talk.

Having a team at the top level of your organization following the cultural norms and practices is critical. That dedication — specifically, people being able to see that dedication put into action — forms the foundation of the type of culture you need to establish trust across multiple generations. 

Seeing Is Believing: Different Generations All Look for Ethical Behavior

Your teams are looking to senior leaders for examples. This includes ethical behavior. 

Most of us have an idea of what is and is not ethical. Beyond that, we might have ideas about what goes into a good place to work, what to expect from colleagues, and what to expect from an organization in general. More simply: We have ideas about what's right and what's wrong.

People tend to expect their leaders to do the "right" thing. In fact, Warren Bennis, a leader himself in leadership studies, would say that "Leaders are people who do the right thing; managers are people who do things right." Understanding this in the unique context of your organization is one of the keys to building trust.

Trust, Culture, and Generational Perspectives: Bringing it all Together

Let's assume that most individuals have different ideas about what's right and what's wrong. Expand that to talk about different generations who have different values and different ethical tendencies. 

If you have to always do the right thing to build trust, but everyone's idea of what's right is different, where do you start?

More than just the feeling in the office or the length of your lunch breaks, culture is about defining what's important to your organization as you pursue your overarching vision of success. Culture provides guidelines that apply to everyone in your group, showing them how to do the right thing.

Culture helps you define the right thing to do in the context of your organization, and a strong culture can override generational preconceptions. When your leadership team embodies that culture by making the right choices, they should build trust easily.

Getting Started by Focusing Your Vision and Defining Your Culture

When you're up against the varying values of a multigenerational team, building trust might take some time. It takes effort, too. Are you ready to start building trust that goes beyond individual differences to bring your organization together?