We like to think that all the teams in our organisation are aligned, collaborating effectively, and working in harmony. In an ideal world, all of our teams’ passion and energy would be combined against the external world, beating competitors and solving problems that get in the way.
In reality, under pressure, we often turn on the groups closest to us. Not because they are the problem but because they are visible and identifiable. It is hard to blame people we can’t identify, so we find an ‘enemy’ we can name, which can be as simple as the team down the corridor. Sales get frustrated with Service, Manufacturing with Supply Chain, and the front line with Leadership.
When the in-fighting bubbles over from noise to frustration, you need to deal with it before all the energy (time and talent) of your team is focused on internal battles and not directed towards delivering the outcomes you require. In this podcast, Ricky and Paul explore how teams get themselves into this position, and when you find yourself dealing with this, what steps bring alignment and harmony back to your world?
Ricky and Paul mention the Trust model by Francis Frei in this podcast. This model is a really helpful way of thinking of trust between teams, and we probably did not do it justice in our description, so we recommend that you hear all about it from the expert in her fabulous TED Talk.
Frances Frei – How to build (and rebuild) trust. TED.com 2018
Turbocharge Your Next Move: A Step-by-Step Guide to Making Informed Choices
Introduction
How often do you charge headlong into a decision – whether personal or professional – only to realise later that you didn’t fully understand the problem?
When it comes to making decisions, clarity is power. Yet we’ve probably all been lost in a swirl of possibilities, gathering endless data, and stuck in a state of ‘analysis paralysis’.
What if a systematic, creative way existed to define the real issue and generate fresh ideas before evaluating your best path forward?
Enter the art of “informed choice,” a process that can transform confusion into clarity and move you from stuck to soaring.
In this month’s edition of Mindset Matters, we’ll explore a simple blueprint for helping individuals make well-informed choices. We’ll begin by discussing how to define the problem clearly, offer strategies to think creatively, and then show how to critically assess your best way forward.
You’ll discover practical steps you can apply at work – or in any facet of life – to consistently make better choices that serve your work and personal goals, and avoid getting stuck or creating false starts.
1. Clearly Define the Problem
Start With ‘Why?’
Making more robust and informed decisions starts with clearly understanding the goal or problem. There is no point in making an informed choice unless you know both your desired outcome and why it matters.
Start by asking yourself: “What problem am I trying to solve?” It’s incredible how often we realise we’ve been working on the wrong problem. “I need more salespeople” might actually be “I need better-trained salespeople.” Or “We must cut costs” might be “We need more innovation to drive revenue.” If you don’t define the issue accurately from the start, any decision that follows will be off track, time will be wasted and your people are likely to be disengaged.
Consider Multiple Angles
I once changed a process that opened the floodgates to unprecedented levels of cross-sales. I was amazed when sales increased by over 400% and I felt great about my decision. That is, until one of my operational colleagues, responsible for processing the sales, called me to say they couldn’t cope with this unexpected surge. As a result, my sales team started getting complaints from customers who chose to take their business elsewhere because our service wasn’t up to scratch. If only I had reached out to share my plan with others!
Look at your problem from many perspectives. You will see it one way, informed by your beliefs, biases and agenda, whereas someone else will view it from a different angle. Learn from my experience, consult with other departments, engage team members affected by the decision, and explore different perspectives within your customer base. Gathering these viewpoints will paint a more accurate picture of the problem and ensure any decision is grounded in reality and gains buy-in.
Put It Into Writing
Take your problem and define it; What precisely is the problem? Who does it impact? What are the consequences on performance? The video below walks you through the ‘Five Whys’ technique, which helps you reach the root cause. From here you can create your problem statement. For example, “Our poor sales performance leaves customers without valuable solutions to their problems.”
Then, reframe it. Changing the frame is a cognitive ‘trick’ that moves your thinking from problem-focused to solution-focused, focusing on the outcome you want, not what you don’t want. Continuing with the sales example, this would become: “Improve our sales performance by solving more of our customers’ problems.”
You should then turn this into a SMART goal in a single sentence: ‘To improve sales by X% by solving more of our customers’ problems.’
2. Be Creative: Generate Possibilities Before Judging
Don’t Jump Straight to the Matrix
Now that you have clearly defined your problem or goal, it can be tempting to jump straight to action. However, this is a classic pitfall in decision-making. Leaping straight into action with only one or two options is like placing all your eggs into one basket and is likely to cause frustration from a false start or wasted effort. It is better to engage in creative thinking first, broaden your possibilities, and increase your chances of success.
Brainstorm to Break Barriers
Encourage a short, focused brainstorming session where all ideas are welcomed, no matter how outlandish. In a team setting, declare a ‘no judgment’ zone for five or ten minutes. This period of open-ideation helps people break from tried-and-tested thinking patterns, leading to fresh options that might not have come up in a more conventional discussion.
Remember, better solutions arise from a broader pool of possibilities. Tapping into creative thinking is vital before you start sorting and evaluating ideas. Otherwise, you might never consider what could turn out to be your game-changing solutions.
Top Tip: Always encourage your team to begin by spending some time thinking on their own before socialising ideas, this will minimise authority bias, confirmation bias and grouthink.
Creative Tools
20-Idea Method: This simple tool encourages you to design an outcome-based question, write it down, and answer it in at least 20 different ways. It can also be helpful to give yourself a short time frame to do this – this can help you avoid prioritising ideas too soon. This template helps with this approach.
O! Ideas Method: A build on the 20-Idea Method, this tool gives a selection of pre-prepared questions designed to prompt a high number of ideas across the headlines of Options, Others and Obstacles. Again, the following template helps with this approach.
SCAMPER Method: SCAMPER is a powerful tool that helps spark creativity by challenging the way we think. It stands for Substitute, Combine, Adapt, Modify, Put to another use, Eliminate, and Rearrange, each prompting fresh ideas for innovation.
You can use SCAMPER to improve products, solve business challenges, refine marketing strategies, or enhance processes. To apply it effectively, start with a clear goal, go through each SCAMPER step systematically, capture all ideas without judgment, and refine the best ones for testing. Whether you’re stuck on a problem or looking for breakthrough ideas, SCAMPER is a simple yet effective way to think differently and drive better results.
3. Critical Thinking two by two
Great news! Creative thinking has helped you generate many ideas and possibilities, as they are at this stage. You now need to critically evaluate which ones are worth pursuing.
Why a 2×2 Matrix?
A 2×2 matrix is a simple yet powerful framework for structuring and comparing options. Its power is in minimising the effects of bias and personal preference on your decisions. When using a 2×2 matrix, one person’s agenda doesn’t dominate in a team situation, and you won’t get caught taking action on those things you feel are right; it introduces objectivity.
Typically, you place two factors or criteria along the vertical and horizontal axes – common examples include “ease vs impact”, “risk vs likelihood,” or “cost vs benefit.” Plotting your ideas in a grid allows you to visually cluster them based on how they measure up.
For example, imagine you’re evaluating potential customer service improvements. You might use “customer impact” as the vertical axis (low to high) and “cost to implement” as the horizontal axis (high to low). Now each idea can be placed in one of four quadrants:
This visual spread helps you quickly see which ideas are easiest, require more resources, and provide the biggest payoff.
Steps to Implement
1. Define Your Axes: After clarifying your problem, identify the two most critical factors to guide your decision (e.g., cost, resources, impact, time, complexity).
2. List Your Options: Take your possibilities and briefly describe each.
3. Plot Your Ideas: Assign each idea to a quadrant based on how it ranks against both axes.
4. Discuss and Debate: Review how the options cluster. This conversation is often where hidden insights emerge – why certain ideas land in specific quadrants.
5. Decide Your Next Move: Typically, you start with quadrants that offer high impact at low cost, but don’t overlook ambitious ideas that could be game changers even if they are more challenging to implement.
Download the RACI Matrix to help you clearly understand who is impacted and their role, whether they need to be kept in the loop, whether we need to involve them (think about my experience above), who is responsible for what, and who is accountable for the goal.
4. Five Practical Steps to Help Individuals Make Informed Choices
Create a ‘Decision Toolkit’: Put together an essential document (you could try our business challenge kit) or template that outlines each step: define the problem, brainstorm, and evaluate options using a 2×2 matrix. A straightforward process can ease the burden on individuals overwhelmed by decision-making.
Encourage Reflection and Self-Awareness: Ask reflective questions: “Why is this choice important now?” or “How does this align with my (or the team’s) bigger goals?” Self-awareness helps ensure that the choices align with deeper values and objectives, rather than being purely reactive.
Use Collaborative Platforms: If you’re in an organisation with distributed teams, use online whiteboards or collaboration tools. This way, everyone can contribute to brainstorming and matrix-plotting in real time. It’s also a living document you can revisit to measure progress or reconsider options when circumstances change.
Build in a ‘Pause & Check’: Once a potential solution emerges from the matrix, pause to revisit your original problem statement. Ask: “Does this solution truly address the defined core problem?” This simple step avoids scenario creep, where you solve an offshoot problem without noticing it.
Test Small and Scale Up: Test your chosen path on a small scale before rolling it out company-wide. This pilot approach allows you to gather accurate data, refine the solution, and build confidence in your decision. If the results look promising, scale it up. If not, return to your matrix for fresh options.
5. Overcoming Three Common Pitfalls
Pitfall 1: Failing to Acknowledge Bias
Confirmation bias and other mental shortcuts can derail an otherwise solid decision-making process. Acknowledge that everyone has blind spots. Ask someone outside your immediate team to challenge or test your assumptions.
Pitfall 2: Overcomplicating the Matrix
Yes, you can plot multiple factors, but a simple 2×2 approach is often enough to provide clarity. Don’t let the framework become so elaborate that it defeats the purpose of a quick, straightforward assessment.
Pitfall 3: Inertia After the Matrix
A thorough review is fantastic, but please don’t let your efforts sit on a shelf. Turn your resulting insights into concrete actions, assign accountability for each selected option, and set deadlines for follow-up and measurement.
Conclusion
Making informed choices isn’t about having a magic wand that always guarantees success. It’s about stacking the odds in your favour by grounding your decisions in a clearly defined problem statement, opening yourself, and your team, up to creative possibilities, and then applying a logical, visual framework like a 2×2 matrix to weigh your options. From there, the real magic lies in translating insights into action—testing, iterating, and refining your approach.
Adopting this disciplined yet creative process makes you far more likely to make choices that align with your goals and values, and empower others to do the same. Whether you’re leading a small team or a global organisation, informed decision-making can be the difference between spinning your wheels on autopilot and sparking the kind of breakthroughs that drive tangible results.
More great content available
Thinking Focus has a wealth of content for leaders and managers looking to improve, you can access it across our multiple channels of content:
Teams often waste time reinventing the wheel, working on projects with the same old methods and ending up with the same frustrations. Even when they attempt “new” approaches, they often replicate past mistakes, leading to post-rationalised explanations for success or failure. The real issue is that most teams don’t have a shared, consistent framework to guide their work and learning.
What if you could plug into a shared system—an Operating System for success—that keeps everyone aligned, focused, and equipped?
Why an OS?
Operating systems (OS) are everywhere, from phones and laptops to TVs. You might be one of the 3.9 billion Android users or the 1.56 billion iPhone users worldwide; if so, there will be an OS working away to ensure your devices work, manage resources to avoid conflicts and provide a familiar, intuitive interface so we don’t have to relearn how to use our phones every day.
Why not give your teams the same reliable, familiar “operating system” for problem-solving and goal achievement?
Imagine a common language underpinned by universal tools that accelerate results. Much like you can open Microsoft Word and instantly know how to bold text or format your page, a “Team OS” would let you tackle goals, drive projects, and solve problems without having to start from scratch every time.
The Benefits of a Team OS
A proper Team OS isn’t about code, but about what it does for the people using it; let’s borrow a few concepts from tech OSes and apply them to teams:
Stability
Your devices handle daily wear and tear without failing. A shared OS of mental models and tools creates consistency in a team context, so work is done on a solid, predictable platform – no surprises or random steps.
User Experience
Familiarity matters. Like tapping an icon on your phone without thinking, a Team OS lets you instantly apply proven approaches and tools. No time wasted reinventing processes or dealing with confusion about “how we work here.”
Resource Optimisation
A good OS seamlessly manages system resources. For teams, this means reducing overlap, prioritising critical tasks, and freeing people to focus on high-impact work – no more second-guessing who does what and when.
Interoperability
Tech OSes allow new hardware (like printers) to work right away. Likewise, a Team OS that uses universal mental models and tools makes integrating new people, processes, or projects easy without costly retraining.
Introducing FoooDo
We developed a mental model for thinking, planning, reviewing, and executing everything from personal goals to large-scale projects.Our clients affectionately call FoooDo. Since its launch in 2016, FoooDo has helped teams in countless settings, from delivering multi-million-pound ROI on company-wide initiatives to identifying failing projects and stopping the financial bleeding.
Think of FoooDo as an OS:
It includes built-in psychological insights to mitigate biases and limiting beliefs.
It provides a common language and a shared approach.
It allows you to ‘plug in’ your own context, just like adding apps on your phone.
A Real-World Success Snapshot
Recently, a global manufacturing client used the FoooDo process to rescue a high-profile initiative on the brink of failure. By pausing to evaluate their assumptions (the “Others” step) and systematically exploring potential solutions (the “Options” step), they pivoted to a more viable plan, ensuring success and saving over £1 million in potential losses.
The FoooDo Framework in Six Steps
Below are the six core elements of FoooDo, each with its own psychological underpinnings:
Focus(The What)
Define precisely what you want to achieve.
Use goal-defining tools—like SMART or SMT AR (as we prefer)—to set clear targets.
Clarify your Purpose (The Why) and check your Belief (Can I?). Purpose keeps you motivated when things get tough. In terms of belief, too little and you give up; too much and complacency may set in.
Options(Unlock Possibilities)
Resist the urge to dive straight into action.
Ask creative questions and brainstorm solutions without judgment to tackle bias (such as authority bias or groupthink).
Tools in this phase ensure every voice is heard and the best ideas rise to the top.
Others(Getting the Right Support)
Goals often fail because we assume others won’t or can’t help.
Clarify what you need from each stakeholder and present compelling reasons for them to get involved.
A well-structured ask can transform “too busy” into “happy to pitch in.”
Organise(Plan and Prioritise)
Evaluate your ideas critically. Which ones make sense? Which are low effort/high impact?
Build out a timeline, address potential obstacles, and decide who owns each task.
Mitigate personal or group bias by considering multiple angles before settling on a course of action.
Delivery(Review and Adapt)
Every plan needs a formal review process to capture lessons and make mid-course corrections.
Ask: Is the goal still relevant? Do we need to stop, pivot, or continue?
Testing your confidence level ensures you’re not pushing ahead with a failing approach.
Ownership(Accountability and Mindset)
Accept accountability rather than blaming circumstances or other people.
This step is about adopting a growth mindset where failures become learning opportunities, not excuses.
Use simple benchmarks to determine whether your current reality is due to genuine challenges or self-imposed limitations.
Why FoooDo Works
FoooDo doesn’t just organise tasks—it addresses the human side of goal execution. Embedding psychology into each phase systematically counters cognitive biases that derail teams. And because it provides a consistent, team-wide “OS,” everyone can plug in their expertise without friction or confusion.
Summary: The Power of a Team OS
In today’s volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) environment, teams are easily side-tracked by shifting priorities and internal politics. A Team OS—like FoooDo—offers:
A stable platform where work gets done effectively.
A familiar approach that reduces cognitive load and confusion.
Built-in adaptability, so you pivot quickly without starting from scratch.
Bias mitigation keeps everyone aligned on the real goal rather than personal agendas.
It frees people up to focus on what truly matters—delivering results without rework, blame games, or second-guessing.
Ready for Your Team OS?
What’s your Team OS, and how is it working for you? If you suspect there could be a better way for you and your team to plan, execute, and learn, we’re here to help. Give us a call or drop us a line, and let’s explore how FoooDo can unlock your team’s full potential.
This article first appeared on Forbes.com on 21st February 2025
Ricky has been a regular contributor to the Forbes Councils since 2023, where he shares his perspectives on all things leadership, change, culture and productivity, all with Thinking Focus’ unique perspective on metacognition, or as we prefer to say, thinking about thinking.
Here is another podcast that examines the questions that regularly arise in our work. This time, Richard and Ricky consider why managers might avoid some of the more big (difficult) conversations that are needed between manager and team members.
Often, senior managers assume that these conversations are happening, only to find out as issues escalate that a culture of over-politeness or hoping things will sort themselves out if we ignore them for long enough has sowed ambiguity and misunderstanding.
Why do these conversations feel so difficult for managers, and what can we do to ensure that they happen early, ensuring small problems never get to become critical issues?
Richard and Ricky mention a great book on structuring these challenging conversations:
Grenny J., Patterson K., McMillan R., Switzler A. and Gregory E. (2021) Crucial Conversations (Third Edition): Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High. McGraw Hill
Did you know that if A-Z = 1-26, and the words “Knowledge,” “Hard Work,” and “Attitude” add up to surprising numbers?
This simple yet powerful numerical formula reveals a deep truth about success and mindset.
Here’s the Breakdown:
Knowledge = 96 → Knowledge is important, but is it enough?
Hard Work = 98 → Hard work gets you close, but does it guarantee success?
Attitude = 100 → Could the right mindset be the ultimate key to success?
This video breaks down the math behind success and explains why attitude matters more than anything else. Whether you’re working towards personal growth, career success, or leadership excellence, this formula will change how you think about achieving your goals.
Five tests that accountable leaders do to achieve success
Ever wondered why some managers dodge those awkward performance conversations—and what to do about it?
In this lively chat, Graham Field and Ricky Muddimer dive into the art and science of giving effective feedback that sparks real change.
They walk through seven critical tests to pinpoint the root causes of underperformance, including:
The Expectations Test – Set the ground rules upfront on how (and when) feedback is shared.
The Holy Trinity Test – Ensure crystal-clear goals, a genuine understanding of “why it matters,” and confidence in what’s possible.
The Underperformance Test – Spot gaps in knowledge, skills, environment/tools, or mindset.
The Competence Test – Move beyond “tick-box” training and guard against the Ebbinghaus Effect by reinforcing learning fast.
The Psychological Safety Test – Create a culture where people feel safe asking for help and receiving honest feedback.
If you’re a middle manager, C-suite executive, or HR professional responsible for leadership development, you’ll pick up practical tips you can use immediately. Grab a coffee, sit back, and learn how to have those tough chats that lead to better performance and stronger teams.
Our very own Ricky Muddimer was invited to be a guest speaker on this Workleap webinar. The Workleap team were keen to get Ricky’s perspective on the annual review process.
Ricky is passionate about performance. Helping line managers have a greater impact on their teams is crucial to every organisation’s performance. The relationship with your line manager is one of the key drivers of individual and team productivity.
The lively discussion revealed some real insights. We learned that 78% of those polled said their review process needed improvement. At the same time, 66% were conducting a formal annual review.
Key Takeaways
We discussed how to build a culture where managers embrace performance management and do it well, and team members want time with their manager. We explored Workleap’s experience of transitioning from annual to quarterly reviews with some great hints and tips to consider.
It is arguably the most challenging time ever to be a line manager with many more leader-doers and player-coaches. How do they find the time to do everything well?
Any performance review process, at whatever cadence, needs to be simple for line managers to improve adoption and shift the mindset from task to value-adding activity.
Related Content
Watch
Unlocking the Potential: A Manager’s Guide to Addressing Underperformance
Are you struggling with underperformance in your team?
Don’t let it hold you back! In this comprehensive guide, we unpack the root causes of underperformance, the pivotal role of performance management, and your responsibilities as a manager.
Read more
Discover practical strategies to overcome roadblocks, have effective conversations, and create an environment where every team member feels valued and motivated to grow. Unlock the potential within your team and chart a course towards success.
Listen
How do you talk talent with your people (that does not set you up for a tough conversation)?
Talent conversations come in many shapes and sizes. Talent is more than just how good you are today; it also encompasses how well you fit into the plans for tomorrow. Your plans, the organisation’s plans, and their plans….
What could possibly go wrong?
Read more
Ricky and Paul tackle the conversations that leaders need to have to help the people around them understand where they are right now, what is expected of them and where they need to develop. Talent conversations may not be easy, but with a bit of structure and thought, they can be positive and constructive interactions that help people grow.
In this podcast, Paul and Richard tackle one of the questions we have been asked a lot since the pandemic ended – How do you build trust between team members and teams that don’t spend that much time in the office. Building trust between individuals and groups is far more complex than many of us realise because we do it so easily when we are together. We build trusting relationships through the micro-moments we spend together: before meetings, over lunch, getting coffee and in quick informal interactions. We also build trust through working together. It is the combination of both these types of trust that forms the relationships that we need to work together. As leaders, we must change how our teams interact to ensure that the trust we need to achieve our goals is actively built so our teams can leverage trust when things get tough.
Ricky shares his five top tips for giving purposeful feedback:
Feedback: Five Top Tips for Purposeful Feedback
Feedback is one of the most critical tools and skills of any manager’s skillset.
In this video, Ricky explores five top tips for managers and leaders and includes a personal example.
Do you lay solid foundations for feedback?
Is feedback a habit?
Is it factual and founded on evidence?
Is it purposeful? Can your people do something with your feedback?
Are you present when giving feedback or distracted?
What do you think?
Related Content
Do you want to know how to deliver feedback effectively at work?
In this video, we share with you five tips on delivering effective feedback in a way that will be respectful and helpful to you and your team members.
Learning how to deliver feedback effectively is essential if you want to be a successful manager of people! In this video, we’ll show you how to deliver feedback in a way that will help your team members grow and learn. We’ll also discuss the importance of feedback in the workplace and give you some helpful tips on how to give feedback effectively!
If you prefer to listen, here are a couple of podcasts on feedback.
Over decades of leading large teams and coaching executives in renowned companies, I’ve learned that trust isn’t just a component of effective leadership—it’s its very foundation. Without trust, strategies falter, innovation stalls and organizations come to a standstill. Today, I want to explore how to build trust within teams from both a leader’s and a team member’s perspective, providing practical insights rooted in real-world experience to help you enhance trust in your own teams.
The Necessity Of Trust In Leadership
Trust acts as a stabilising force in large corporate environments where complexity and change are constants. It’s the invisible thread woven through every interaction and decision, accelerating progress and uniting teams toward shared goals. The impact of trust isn’t theoretical; it’s tangible and profoundly influences organizational success.
Frances Frei’s Trust Triangle
Harvard Business School professor Frances Frei offers a compelling framework called the Trust Triangle, consisting of three critical elements:
Authenticity: Being true to yourself. People can detect inauthenticity instantly; it’s essential to be genuine.
Logic: Having clear and sound reasoning. Your logic should be solid, and you must articulate it effectively.
Empathy: Understanding and sharing others’ feelings. Showing genuine concern for others is crucial in building trust.
These elements interconnect to form two essential types of trust in leadership: cognitive trust and affective trust.
Cognitive Trust: Trust Of The Head
Cognitive trust is the trust of the mind arising from belief in a leader’s competence and reliability. It thrives when team members perceive their leader as authentic and logically sound.
From The Leader’s Perspective
Demonstrate consistency. Align your actions with your words. Inconsistencies quickly erode trust.
Communicate the ‘why.’ Provide context for decisions to empower your team with understanding, not just directives.
Be transparent about challenges. Authenticity includes acknowledging obstacles and sharing your approach to overcoming them.
From The Team Member’s Perspective
Seek clarity. Don’t hesitate to ask questions if something is unclear; this strengthens collective understanding.
Acknowledge expertise. Recognize your leader’s experience, fostering mutual respect and reinforcing cognitive trust.
Affective Trust: Trust Of The Heart
Affective trust is the trust of the heart, cultivated when leaders authentically connect on an emotional level and demonstrate genuine empathy.
From The Leader’s Perspective
Invest in relationships. Take time to understand your team members’ aspirations, fears and motivations.
Show vulnerability. Sharing your challenges and failures humanizes you and creates a safe space for others.
Listen to understand. Focus on truly understanding your team members’ feelings and perspectives.
From The Team Member’s Perspective
Engage openly. Share your perspectives and challenges; building trust is a collaborative effort.
Support peers. Show empathy toward colleagues, strengthening team cohesion and supporting a trusting culture.
Practical Strategies For Leaders To Enhance Trust
Conduct trust audits. Regularly assess trust levels within your team, seeking honest feedback.
Lead with integrity. Uphold ethical standards consistently, even when faced with dilemmas.
Empower decision-making. Delegate authority, showing confidence in your team’s abilities.
Celebrate wins and learn from losses. Recognise achievements and approach failures as learning opportunities.
Empowering Teams To Build Trust Among Themselves
Foster collaboration. Encourage cross-functional teamwork to build trust naturally.
Encourage peer recognition. Implement systems for team members to acknowledge each other’s contributions.
Promote transparency. Facilitate open communication channels across the team to reduce misunderstandings.
Navigating Trust Erosion
Despite best efforts, trust can sometimes erode due to factors like organizational changes or external pressures.
For Leaders
Address issues directly. Confront trust issues with honesty and a commitment to resolve them.
Rebuild through actions. Restore trust through consistent, trustworthy actions | over time.
Stay committed. Continue performing at your best, contributing positively to the trust environment.
The Synergy Of Cognitive And Affective Trust
Authenticity links cognitive and affective trust. By aligning your genuine self with logical reasoning and empathetic understanding, you create a powerful trust dynamic that resonates both intellectually and emotionally with your team.
Case Study: Trust In Action
I once led a global team through significant organizational change. Initial trust was low due to past leadership missteps. I addressed this by:
Being Transparent: Sharing challenges and the strategic plan openly (Authenticity + Logic).
Collaborating On Solutions: Incorporating team feedback into implementation plans.
Over time, we not only navigated the change but emerged stronger and more cohesive, demonstrating the impact of building both cognitive and affective trust through authentic actions.
Conclusion: Trust As The Catalyst For Excellence
In the vast corridors of large corporations, trust humanizes the workplace. It’s the catalyst that transforms strategies into successes and groups into unified teams. As leaders, embodying authenticity, logic, and empathy is imperative.
Action Steps
Reflect on your trust triangle. Identify which element—authenticity, logic or empathy—you need to strengthen and develop a plan to enhance it.
Engage your team. Initiate dialogue about trust, encouraging open sharing and collective growth.
Lead by example. Your actions set the tone and embody the trust you wish to see.
Final Thoughts
Building trust requires consistent, intentional actions and a willingness to grow alongside your team. From my experience, the dividends of trust—in engagement, innovation and performance—are well worth the investment.
By focusing on both cognitive and affective trust and recognizing authenticity’s pivotal role in bridging logic and empathy, you position yourself and your team to exceed objectives, turning challenges into opportunities for greatness.
Embrace the journey of building trust. Your leadership will inspire your team and leave a lasting impact on your organization’s culture.
This article first appeared on Forbes.com on 3rd January 2025
Ricky has been a regular contributor to the Forbes Councils since 2023, where he shares his perspectives on all things leadership, change, culture and productivity, all with Thinking Focus’ unique perspective on metacognition, or as we prefer to say, thinking about thinking.
