What are the most effective ways to use power but still engender trust?
Leaders must balance how they exert their power or mandate and how they use this power to engender trust among junior employees. This can be achieved by taking into account the following approaches to leadership. First, a leader must encourage open communication within their organization, which goes a long way in nurturing trust with the junior employees. Having a culture where leaders appreciate feedback and employees feel comfortable sharing their opinions and thoughts helps promote trust within the organization and also helps provide the leader with valuable information relating to the opportunities and challenges the organization faces. Secondly, one should lead respectfully if one seeks to engender trust in their organization. According to Oyediran (2021), treating your junior workers with respect and dignity is crucial in fostering a positive work environment where a strong sense of trust can be fostered.
What advice would you give to a company CEO about building a culture of respect and trust?
It is worth mentioning that building a culture of trust and respect is important for the overall growth and development of any organization. As such, I would advise a company CEO to consider the following aspects if they seek to create such an environment in their organization. To begin with, they should always promote inclusivity and diversity in their workplaces. This means employing and recognizing employees from diverse perspectives, cultures, beliefs, experiences, and backgrounds. It also means establishing programs and policies that foster diversity and inclusivity and creating safe and inclusive environments where employees can co-exist comfortably. Another approach is to encourage collaboration within the organization. This point is premised on the fact that through collaboration, employees can work together and share ideas and perspectives, which in turn helps increase productivity and improves the organization’s decision-making (Zhao, 2020). Besides that, collaboration can help create a sense of teamwork among employees and, in turn, help promote respect and trust.
References
Oyediran, O. V. (2021). A Qualitative Study on Improving respect in the Workplace and Employee Satisfaction (Doctoral dissertation, Northcentral University).
Zhao, H. (2020). Portal: A Teleworking Tool for Team Collaboration in the Workplace (Doctoral dissertation, Syracuse University).
