Building trust using emotional bank concept

In my view, one of the ways that trust can be built in the workplace is by using the emotional bank concept. I first encountered this concept in the book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey.

According to this concept, like a traditional bank account, one must make deposits before they can make withdrawals in another person’s emotional bank. Some of the deposits in an emotional account include trust, goodwill, and effective rewards.

As Covey correctly observed, “When the trust account is high, communication is easy, instant and effective.” He added that “by behaving in ways that build trust with one, you build trust with many.”

It was management expert Peter Drucker who observed that the 21st Century employee is a knowledge worker, and for the employer to get results from them, they need to treat them as such.

This, in effect, calls for ensuring that the employee is not just motivated to work but that they also feel valued for the contribution they bring to the leadership table.

Before I dive into the ways we can build up the emotional bank, allow me to illustrate instances where withdrawals happen. We have in the past two posts discussed the different personalities and how they present themselves.

Imagine a case where the leader is an extrovert who either has a dominant or influencer personality. These leaders tend to act fast.

For an introvert who has either a compliant or steady personality, this immediately comes across as inappropriate or unfair.

Another withdrawal may occur when a leader who has promised that the organisation will go in a certain direction changes the trajectory without offering a clear explanation. This can be viewed as inconsistent behaviour, and there will be a huge withdrawal.

In the same way, a withdrawal may occur when a leader chooses to undermine the ability of their team and constantly micromanages them.

Similarly, a withdrawal could happen when a leader does not effectively delegate and, when things go wrong, refuses to take responsibility and instead passes it to their subordinate.

There are many instances where withdrawals may occur. However, the fact is there will always be withdrawals as we interact at the leadership table. The key is to ensure that the leader remembers to deposit in the emotional bank such that when withdrawals occur, the account is not depleted.

Deposits can be made in several ways.

The first is to keep in mind that we deal with human beings who have feelings. Therefore, we need to focus on their wellbeing over what they bring to the leadership table by showing them that they are an asset to the organisation and that the work they do matters.

Second, creating spaces where teams feel free to take risks and learn makes a deposit in the account.

The third way that a deposit can be made is to maintain transparency about organisational goals. Teams need to be aware that the net they need to score in is in the place they are running towards.

When the net is moved without communication, it not only wears the team down but also creates suspicion and builds mistrust.

Deposits are also made when leaders celebrate not only results but also the effort and growth made.

Finally, it may be argued that once we have done the work of understanding the differences that exist in the workplace, we need to build trust and allow it to be the foundation for exceptional performance.

This ensures that we create innovative, productive, and resilient teams. Mastering the concept of the emotional bank can help us do this effectively.

Do you agree with this perspective?