{"id":264,"date":"2013-10-01T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2013-10-01T09:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.practicesolutionsinc.net\/?p=264"},"modified":"2013-10-01T09:00:00","modified_gmt":"2013-10-01T09:00:00","slug":"the-cost-of-trust","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.practicesolutionsinc.net\/blog\/2013\/10\/the-cost-of-trust\/","title":{"rendered":"The Cost of Trust"},"content":{"rendered":"

One of the biggest signs of low trust is when the leadership team has difficulty getting the team on board and\u00a0excited to follow their lead.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Imagine a culture of trust where:<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Leadership was by example<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Everyone could rely on each other to work together for the greater good<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Co-worker’s didn’t question each other’s intent<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Open communication was the standard<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Gossip ceased to exist<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Accountability was self-maintained<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Honesty was the only policy<\/p>\n

Trust is the foundation of a happy, healthy, and high producing culture.\u00a0\u00a0 There is a cost to low trust!\u00a0<\/p>\n

How much more productive would your practice be if your team truly trusted each other?<\/b><\/p>\n

The dictionary defines trust as instinctive unquestioning belief in and reliance upon something.\u00a0 The culture of trust I am suggesting is not one of blind faith but instead one of confidence!\u00a0 Confident trust is based on good reasons, definite evidence or past experience.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Think about the people in your life that you trust the most.\u00a0 Why do you trust them?\u00a0 Confident trust does not just happen overnight.\u00a0 It takes time to nurture and grow.\u00a0 However, breaking one’s trust can happen in a heartbeat.\u00a0 The great news is that building trust is a skill set that can be learned.\u00a0 Once we can learn how to build trust we can prevent trust breakdowns!<\/p>\n

I would start by having a team meeting to talk about the level of trust in your practice.\u00a0 Discuss the benefits of having a culture of trust.\u00a0 It is also important for the entire team to understand how much a low level of trust affects the practice and the bottom line.\u00a0 Such as having to add steps to compensate, extra staff to cover for lack of accountability, and redundant systems and processes.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Let me give you an example of low trust with patients.\u00a0 You may have some patients that no show or cancel last minute.\u00a0 Therefore, you decide to implement the following protocol:\u00a0 All patients must sign a form that states they will owe $ if they don’t show or cancel last minute unless it is an illness (with a doctor note) or death in the family.\u00a0\u00a0 The cost is that now all patients are subjected to a protocol that shows you no longer trust them and makes them feel unwelcome\u2026which could ultimately destroy the relationship resulting in them leaving the practice.\u00a0 It is an insult to your patients who are responsible and accountable and the ones who are not will just ignore it!\u00a0 The same holds true with your team.\u00a0 When you add extra steps for everyone to compensate for the inadequacies of the team members you can’t trust…you may end up losing your good team members.<\/p>\n

The next step is to ask the team to share what they feel they need from each other to build trust.\u00a0 Use a large easel pad and write down all the answers being shared by the team.\u00a0 Cross out any duplicates. \u00a0<\/p>\n

Some examples might be:<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 If you have an issue with me talk to me first<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Help me when you see I need help<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Finish what you say you are going to do<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Focus on the greater good instead of WIIFY<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Tell me the truth but be compassionate<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Don’t be late or absent for trivial reasons<\/p>\n

\u00a0Put your list together and label it Trust Culture Guidelines.\u00a0 Next print it, frame it and put on display for future reference.\u00a0 It will be important to review whenever you hire someone new or…because old habit die hard; whenever someone’s behavior deems it necessary!<\/p>\n

Ta-dah…your team has just established their guidelines on how to build the level of trust in the practice!\u00a0 The awesome part is that when people create it they own it!<\/p>\n

The bottom line is that trust is not just a social virtue it greatly affects your bottom line!<\/b><\/p>\n