A sense of trust — trusting others and being trusted ourselves — is something most of us value. At work, distrust has direct economic consequences, but we rarely pause to think about its costs. Here's Part II of a little catalog of ways we cope with distrust, and the costs that result. See "The High Cost of Low Trust: I," Point Lookout for April 19, 2006, for more.
- Concealment
Some people feel that they might be blamed or held responsible for failures or mishaps. They either conceal the failure, or conceal their roles in it, sometimes even concealing themselves. Concealment can include lies of commission or omission.
- Concealment makes replicating failures more likely, and replicating successes less likely. It tends to complicate recovery from or learning from failures, because it makes them and their causes less visible. And in the same way, it can complicate any learning from successes.
- Escapism
- At work, distrust has
direct economic consequences,
but we rarely pause
to think about its costs - If the level of distrust in the environment becomes unbearable, we sometimes escape to whatever degree we can. Early forms of escapism include missing meetings and elevated absenteeism. Unaddressed, escapism can become voluntary transfer or termination.
- Escapism mimics other forms of substandard performance. Because we tend to see escapist behavior as a problem of the individual, rather than a symptom of organizational distrust, we have difficulty detecting it or resolving it. Escapism deprives the organization of the contributions of the escapee, which can be costly when the escapee plays a critical role.
- Avoidance
- When we distrust someone, we sometimes limit contact by avoiding that person, to relieve ourselves of worry about attacks. But this tactic further limits our knowledge of the activities and intentions of those we distrust, which can increase our sense of distrust. Moreover, the insulation also deprives those we distrust of information about us, which can cause distrust on their part, too.
- Avoidance tends to deepen distrust on both sides, which increases the prevalence and cost of other distrust coping patterns. And avoidance can complicate team efforts if the avoider and the person avoided have to work together.
- Hedging
- In problem solving, we sometimes prefer solutions with hedges, so that even if they fail, we still get some of what we want. But hedges can make the solution unpalatable to our negotiation partners, because they might not know our real motivations, and then they imagine something truly horrible.
- If our partners sense what we're doing, hedging can further lower the overall level of trust. It increases the cost and complexity of internal negotiations, and lengthens them, too. Many so-called "control procedures" are actually hedges against feared outcomes whose organizational costs are often less than the cost of the control procedures.
Sometimes we appreciate what we do have more when we consider the consequences of not having it at all. Are you trusted? Do you trust enough? First in this series Top
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Is every other day a tense, anxious, angry misery as you watch people around you, who couldn't even think their way through a game of Jacks, win at workplace politics and steal the credit and glory for just about everyone's best work including yours? Read 303 Secrets of Workplace Politics, filled with tips and techniques for succeeding in workplace politics. More info
One tactic we sometimes use in low-trust relationships is indirectness. We say what we think, but in such an obtuse manner that it can be interpreted in a variety of ways. See "The True Costs of Indirectness," Point Lookout for November 29, 2006, for more.
For more about Trust, see "Creating Trust," Point Lookout for January 21, 2009, "TINOs: Teams in Name Only," Point Lookout for March 19, 2008, and "Express Your Appreciation and Trust," Point Lookout for January 16, 2002.
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Related articles
More articles on Workplace Politics:
Just Make It Happen
- Many idolize the no-nonsense manager who says, "I don't want to hear excuses, just make it happen."
We associate that stance with strong leadership. Sometimes, though, it's little more than abuse motivated
by ambition or ignorance — or both.
The Knowledge One-Upmanship Game
- The Knowledge One-Upmanship Game is a pattern of group behavior in the form of a contest to determine
which player knows the most arcane fact. It can seem like innocent fun, but it can disrupt a team's
ability to collaborate.
Columbo Tactics: I
- When the less powerful must deal with the more powerful, or the much more powerful, the less powerful
can gain important advantages by adapting the strategy and tactics of the TV detective Lt. Columbo.
Here's Part I of a collection of his tactics.
Way Over Their Heads
- For organizations in crisis, some but not all their people understand the situation. Toxic conflict
can erupt between those who grasp the problem's severity and those who don't. Trying to resolve the
conflict by educating one's opponents rarely works. There are alternatives.
Avoiding Speed Bumps: I
- Many of the difficulties we encounter while working together have few long-term effects. They just cause
delays, confusion, and frustration. Eventually we sort things out, but there is a better way: avoid
the speed bumps.
See also Workplace Politics and Conflict Management for more related articles.
Forthcoming issues of Point Lookout
Coming June 14: Pseudo-Collaborations
- Most workplace collaborations produce results of value. But some collaborations — pseudo-collaborations — are inherently incapable of producing value, due to performance management systems, or lack of authority, or lack of access to information. Available here and by RSS on June 14.
And on June 21: Asking Burning Questions
- When we suddenly realize that an important question needs answering, directly asking that question in a meeting might not be an effective way to focus the attention of the group. There are risks. Fortunately, there are also ways to manage those risks. Available here and by RSS on June 21.
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Beware any resource that speaks of "winning" at workplace politics or "defeating" it. You can benefit or not, but there is no score-keeping, and it isn't a game.
- Wikipedia has a nice article with a list of additional resources
- Some public libraries offer collections. Here's an example from Saskatoon.
- Check my own links collection
- LinkedIn's Office Politics discussion group