COMMUNICATION: THE TOOL OF TRUST,
INSIDE, AND OUTSIDE, YOUR
ORGANIZATION.
| In a recent speech in New York City, (the City of a million communications -- per day) Richard
Pound made an extraordinary attempt to rebuild the trust in the IOC! With refreshing candour --
not always seen in those communicating around ethical minefields -- Pound laid integrity on the
line. The Olympic bidding process, he promised, would be brought into synch with the ideals
Olympians seek, and that their admirers assume. Admitting flaws in past dealings, Pound quickly captured the essence of communicating trust . . . admit (past wrongs) and submit (future corrections) . . . a simple formula often ignored by corporate, government, and association spokespersons. Look at past Olympic spokespersons. During the doping fiascos (too many, too soon, too tragic), some Olympic officials adopted a "see no evil, hear no evil, feel no evil" stance. The public |
didn't buy it -- nor did you. "How is it possible," you and I asked, "to have been immersed up to
your keesters, in the detailed running of the games, without knowing what was actually going
on?" The professed innocence of these spokespersons smacked of deception, and of posterior
protection. The words offered didn't soothe and pacify as intended, they inflamed and irritated!
The key ingredient lacking in these oral missives was admission. By refreshing contrast, Pound,
however, admitted . . . the crucible of honest communication . . . IOC impropriety, and quickly
established empathy and sympathy. "If it's wrong, fix it." That's the message implicit in his statement, and for that matter, that's Step One in utilizing communication to generate trust in your organization. |
I can't begin to tell you how many government leaders, CEO's, and organizational gurus, I've
tutored who can not admit their mistakes . . . to their peril! Stakeholders no longer expect leaders to be super-human, just to be human. Therefore, if "to err is human", then "to admit error is to humanize even our harshest critics". Extracting the human factor is not a frivolity, nor even an affectation, of communications. It is an operational imperative! If I were to coin (and I have) 10 Commandments of Communications for the Year 2001, I would say that Commandment One is (1) Trust those who admit error. But I would quickly add the sequel. "Admission without commission, is like unsweet ice cream. The taste has promise, but it ultimately falls flat! We must "commit" to correcting our errors, not just "admit" them, if our stakeholders are to not only trust us, but to support us, as well. Norman K. Rebin |
