Contest Winner: How to Increase Trust (in 140 characters or less)

It wasn't easy to choose a winner in our latest Tweet-a-Hack contest. Apparently, Increasing Trust is a fairly straightforward objective, one that lends itself to the 140-character format just fine.

As I noted in my post last week, at least five themes came through clearly:

• Transparency
• Responsiveness
• Consistency
• Courtesy
• Reciprocation

In the end, we chose a favorite from among many good entries, a good one tweet from Alex Todd:

@TrustEnabler: 1. Celebrate vulnerability; 2. Admire authenticity; 3. Insist on integrity (honor yr word); 4. Champion EVERY stand

We were impressed with Alex's ability to squeeze four good ideas into a single tweet, as well as with the passion with which they came through. Personally, I'm intrigued by his first suggestion ("celebrate vulnerability"), which I hope he'll elaborate on in a future post. It's probably no surprise that Alex took this prize: as the founder of Trust Enablement, Inc., he's clearly focused on the matter at hand.

As I noted, there were many other good ones, among them tweets that urged managers to walk the walk...

@KJanig: trust = practice what you preach.

... to be open to feedback ...

@DanOestreich: Increase trust by asking for feedback and being genuinely open to learning about your own blind spots.

@ellenfweber: Trust inceases when people on both sides of issues use a tone that learns from opposing views, and diminishes no participant

... to be responsive ...

@boydpelley: Respond as soon as possible. Listen carefully to learn the need or perspective. Always say, "thank you." Be consistent.

... to share in decision making and rationale ..

@mumblr: Don't just tell! Ask employees where they want the org to go. Co-envision and co-create the path.

@adioana: Increase trust by giving trust - show employees that YOU trust them. Ex: work phone with no restrictions just "common sense"

@alanpage You don't have to (and shouldn't) involve everyone in decisions. But build trust by sharing why and how you make decisions.

... to be transparent ...

@mumblr Openly share people metrics like pay/benefits expenses, training hours, avg time for promotion etc. by job levels.

@alanpage As a managers or leader, don't have secrets or surprises. Only exception is surprising your team with good news or rewards.

... and to be reliable:

@PaulHerr To earn trust in a hurry, be a "first responder" if an employee has a crisis. Your employees will walk through fire for you!

@gianvittorio Build a program that is based on being predictable, reliable and truthful

@titudeadjust Trust: Be consistent & honest. Always admit when u don't know or can't say. Give benefit of doubt to get it. Value results.

@alanpage As a managers or leader, don't have secrets or surprises. Only exception is surprising your team with good news or rewards.

Congratulations, Alex.

These are turning out to be a great way to collect and spread good ideas, so we'll no doubt be back with another Tweet-a-Hack contest before long.