The Trust Canyon in the Middle

Trust in senior leaders varies a lot.... even for the same leader. Why? The Trust Canyon.

Our new research has shown that trust in senior leadership is on the decline, but that it explains more about whether somebody will choose to leave the organization than trust in supervisors. This is contrary to the common refrain that the supervisor is the most influential person in the decision to stay or go. But the managers in the middle still make a big difference in the trust equation.

What we are also seeing in our data is that there is wide variation in trust for people who report to the same senior leader. Same person—way different perceptions of trustworthiness for the people they lead. If this was only an issue of the leader’s behaviors, we wouldn’t expect to see such differences.

What’s going on there?

There is a trust canyon in the middle between the frontline employees and the senior leader.

What creates the gap from the senior leader side?

Besides untrustworthy behavior (which we will explore more later) there are other accidental reasons that senior leaders contribute to the gap. ?

Low Visibility

Senior leaders of large organizations often delegate heavily through their hierarchy of leaders. This makes sense—that is why other leaders are there. That said, this can have the unintended consequence of low visibility with lower levels of the organization. It is hard for people to trust somebody they don’t know.

When the frontline doesn’t know the senior leaders, it is a big leap for them to trust. You are asking them to walk across a canyon without seeing the bridge, much like Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. If you don’t know this reference, here’s a link to the scene and your top priority for this weekend’s viewing.

Lack of Direct Communication

Heavy delegation by senior leadership can also damage trust through a lack of communication both downward and upward.

Downward

When employees don’t hear directly from the top, there is no guarantee that they get the message in the way leaders want. When all communication is delegated or cascaded, then the messaging may not be consistent with the organization’s goals and values. It also robs employees of the chance to learn the voice, commitment, and values of their leaders, which can leave too much to the imagination.

Upward

In large organizations, lack of upward communication from the frontline to the top can be especially problematic. The manager doesn’t want to look incompetent to their director, so problems get filtered a bit when reported upward. The director doesn’t want to look like they are doing a bad job, so the story gets more filtered on the way to the VP. Sometimes after the issue makes it to the top, things seem generally fine.

This filtering can have the side effect of making senior leaders seem out-of-touch or tone-deaf in their communications when they aren’t getting accurate information on the conditions at the front.

Creating listening mechanisms to get feedback directly from the bottom of the organization to the top is a powerful antidote to filtering.

What creates the gap from the middle?

Sometimes when middle managers and supervisors don’t fully understand the WHY behind organizational decisions or how to answer tough questions from employees, they feel pressure to maintain harmony in their own relationships. They have to see their employees every day. That means that they have a powerful incentive not to make people unnecessarily upset.

Because of this dynamic, it is tempting to throw senior leaders under the bus to save face. “I asked for your raise, but those greedy, evil people upstairs said no……”

The problem is that nobody wants to work in an organization that they believe is being led by terrible people… so people eventually leave when they lose trust in the top.

How to bridge the gap?

Narrow the canyon

Through activities like rounding and direct communication from senior leadership, the gap gets smaller. As employees get to know the personality, voice, and values of the leader, the sides of the canyon don’t feel so far away.

Strengthen the Bridge

Once the gap is narrowed, we can strengthen the bridge that connects them—the middle managers. Mid-level leaders need training, coaching, mentorship and support to help bridge the relationships between the frontline and the senior leaders. Their jobs are increasingly complex, and like many leaders, they face burnout and distress themselves. Continued investment in their success is an investment in building trust at all levels.

Lead Well,

Katherine

Katherine A. Meese, PhD

This research was the foundation for my new book with Quint Studer , The Human Margin: Building Foundations of Trust available now online.

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