Trust and Betrayal in the Workplace: Building Effective Relationships in Your Organization

Dennis and Michelle Reina, principals in an organization-development firm, believe more productive and rewarding work environments will emerge if relationships that define them are truly built on trust. The problem they see is years of "downsizing, restructuring, and reengineering or of upsizing, mergers, and growth" that frequently result in minor misreadings of intention along with major breaches of promise--followed all too often by seriously diminished employee performance. The solution they propose in Trust & Betrayal in the Workplace is that leaders must develop a full understanding of the complex dynamics involved, and commit to practices that support building trust with employees. The book addresses the aspects of betrayal and trust, the bulk of it focused on "transactional trust" (which they define as "managing expectations, establishing boundaries, delegating appropriately, encouraging mutually serving intentions, keeping agreements, and being congruent in our behavior") and ways to build it among teams and groups as well as entire organizations. The authors conclude with a section on "transformational trust," the ultimate stage attained when trust within these levels "reaches a critical point and increases exponentially, becoming self-generating and synergistic." This is smart food for thought, supported by tools and techniques that can put it into practice. --Howard Rothman