How to gain trust

A technically skilled finance business partner consistently delivers high-quality work but rarely updates stakeholders on progress. According to the article, how does this individual risk being seen?

Technically capable but perhaps not trustworthy

Competent but low in perceived ability

Trustworthy because the work results speak for themselves

Benevolent but lacking integrity

In practice, what do you need to do to demonstrate your ability as a way of building trust most effectively?

Make people like you

Speak about the tasks and projects you have completed as well as the thinking behind decisions you have taken

Avoid discussions about mistakes

Read widely and attend conferences in order to build up your technical knowledge

Which of the following behaviours best exemplifies benevolence in the workplace?

Asking how colleagues are coping during busy periods of work

Two of the other answers are correct

Making flattering comments when leaders make good decisions

Gently challenging leaders when they make decisions that are unethical or illegal

Which of the following behaviours is most likely to bring the largest gain in your perceived trustworthiness?

Behaving in a firm and decisive manner to convey confidence and assertiveness

Sending fewer but high-quality emails to avoid overloading colleagues

Informing others promptly about progress as well as problems

Doing good work but being modest about your achievements

A group of researchers has developed a questionnaire to measure propensity to trust. Which of the following statements on their questionnaire is most indicative of a high trust propensity?

'I believe the people I work with are reliable'

'I know I can always rely on myself'

'Colleagues tell me I am insightful and that others can rarely take advantage of me'

'Stakeholders tell me they can rely on me to do the right thing'

Why should professionals who are highly cynical be cautious?

Their cynicism may prevent them from seeking the qualifications they need to progress further in their careers

Their attitude may limit their ability to pool resources and generate win-win outcomes

They may fail to detect dishonesty

They may be exploited by colleagues who have higher levels of trust propensity

Maria is looking to promote one of her team to a new role that will involve spending a great deal of time with senior customers. Of the two candidates, Rohan has more experience with the computer systems but does not trust easily, while Peter has nearly as much experience of the computer systems but a much greater willingness to trust others. What is the likely consequence of promoting Peter into the new role?

It will reduce trust among customers as they will resent Peter's inability with the computer systems

Peter will likely fail in the role and Maria will probably have to promote Rohan subsequently

It will increase cynicism within the team as others will see Maria as having made an unfair decision

It may strengthen customer relationships and possibly deliver stronger outcomes for the organisation

Dakari, a finance director, is starting to believe that trust dispersion may be an issue within the department. What would be a useful first step for Dakari to take?

Conduct an anonymous survey to identify the extent to which team members trust each other

Aim to replace less-trusting employees over the medium term

Bring in an external consultant to run a workshop aimed at improving the team's effectiveness

Reorganise the department so that individuals with higher levels of trust are separated from colleagues who are less trusting

The article mentions treating AI insights as a starting point rather than a final solution. What does this approach reflect?

A need for greater benevolence towards algorithms

A need to oversee the results produced by AI and a desire for solutions to be communicated with care and empathy

All the other answers are correct

The reality that humans typically make fewer large-scale errors than AI

Victor, a financial accountant, feels frustrated because he has not been promoted. Although he possesses excellent technical knowledge, his manager, Mei, has said she does not believe he is ready yet for further opportunities. Which of the following is a likely reason for her reluctance to promote Victor?

Victor may be perceived by stakeholders as focusing on his own work and not making enough of a contribution to the wellbeing of colleagues

All the other reasons may be correct

Stakeholders may have told Mei that Victor is not always following through and delivering on his commitments

Mei does not believe Victor is demonstrating the compassion and good intentions towards stakeholders that she feels are necessary in dealing with more senior stakeholders