Default Low Trust People Ruin Everything
Avoid DLT people or suffer.
Trust is a key part of a healthy high-performance company of any size. All other things being equal, companies with a higher average internal trust level will outperform those with a lower level.
There are 3 things that lead to a high average level of internal trust in the company and it’s leadership;
The company and leadership earning trust by being trustworthy in it’s actions and communication
The average trustworthiness of the actions and communication of everyone in the company
The innate baseline trust levels of the people in the company – whether they are default high or low trust in their nature
Assuming you are doing the right things on points 1 and 2 (this is a big assumption!), it’s critical to avoid poisoning your company by letting low trust people in. Working with low trust people really, really sucks.
High vs Low Trust People
Default High Trust people;
Default to trusting others until given a reason not to.
Are open and collaborative; assume positive intent.
Focus on finding solutions rather than assigning blame.
Are comfortable with direct and transparent communication.
Spend a high percentage of their time on ‘the work’.
Default Low Trust (DLT) people;
Assume others have hidden motives or bad intentions.
Assume negative intent behind most or all actions and communication from leadership.
Start from a defensive posture.
Focus on finding faults rather than fixing problems.
Engage in gossip and office politics instead of direct communication.
Spend a high percentage of their time on everything but ‘the work’.
People can become higher or lower trust depending on their circumstances and experiences in life and in your company. You should do everything you can to earn everyone’s trust at your company by being a decent leader, being trustworthy and having your words and actions be consistent.
There are, however, a subset of people who live life from a DLT position no matter your actions. Because of past experiences, they assume bad intentions, view every interaction with suspicion and create friction.
They operate from a position of defensive self-protection over co-operation.
The Impact of Default Low Trust people on startups
DLT People deserve empathy and respect as people. They have often been through difficult experiences that made them the way they are.
Identifying DLT people
You must try to avoid hiring and working with DLT people. They’re difficult but not impossible to screen for. Key things to look for:
Observe how they talk about experiences in past roles and companies; do they assume positive intent, or blame others?
Do they take their ‘fair share’ of accountability?
Do they find it difficult to hide their disdain for other people in general? I’ve always liked the quote “If everyone else is always the problem, maybe the problem isn’t everyone else.”
Much of the advice on hiring for high agency applies here. Avoid hiring those that moan about previous companies, or blame others readily.