How to survive a low-trust culture
Marie-Claire Ross.
Typically, leaders say to me, ‘I trust my team, but I don’t trust management at large or even the culture. How can I build trust in a low-trust company?’
It’s a good question that can be difficult for an individual to address without the right strategies.
Some people solve the problem by resigning and going elsewhere. Others choose to hold on to their job, tolerating the toxic behaviours around them and becoming part of the problem, while others resort to complaining about everything and railing against the system.
If the latter is you, it’s time to decide which is more powerful – shouting at the system or changing it from the inside?
Complaining about the culture only takes your power away and makes you miserable (and attracts negative, drama-loving people around you to boot – misery loves company).
It’s also exhausting. If you want to be part of the solution, it’s time to step up and think strategically about what you can do. If you’re in some type of leadership role, this is much easier to accomplish.
Believe it or not, you are actually in a wonderful learning environment that can teach you many powerful leadership lessons. That is, what not to do as a leader. Some of the worst leaders I worked with at the start of my career were very good teachers in demonstrating how not to behave.
The good news is that lots of successful people have experienced toxic leaders and cultures. In fact, many of
