What is the Trust Index Employee Survey?
Line managers are marginally less trusted today than they were over a decade ago. This is part of the findings from new research by The Institute of Leadership, where over 1,000 people across a range of organisations and sectors were polled. The trust rating for line managers in 2023 stands at 67, a fall from 71 in 2018, and down from 69 in 2009, at the peak of the global financial crisis! Chief Executives today are slightly more trusted than they were in 2009, rising from 59 to 62, although they remain less trusted overall than Line Managers.
Key Findings from the Report
• Trust remains lower in CEOs than Line Managers.
• Trust diminishes over time with new employees displaying high trust initially.
• Trust is lowest in the public sector, and highest in the private sector.
• Trust is highest in SMEs with under 50 employees.
• Trust is significantly higher for those working from home the whole time.
The Trust Dimensions
Significant academic research into leadership trust has identified three broad determinates of trust: competence, benevolence and integrity. These are aggregates of several different behaviours that have been refined into six for Line Managers and seven for CEOs - these form the Trust Dimensions. The six that are common to both are:
1. Capability
Capability in their role and their ability to lead. This trust dimension is also closely linked to self-awareness. Leaders should be self-aware of their capabilties and any limitations, to ensure they delegate correctly.
2. Understanding
Understanding the roles of those they lead and displaying knowledge of their responsibilities. We delve deeper into the topic of understanding stakeholders in a separate blog post.
3. Openness
Openness to ideas and suggestions from those they lead. In fact, we consider conversation as a leadership essential. This means that leaders should be engaging stakeholders at all levels in conversation for best results.
4. Fairness
Fairness in the way they treat, and showing concern for, the people they lead. Ethics are important for signalling fairness.
5. Integrity
Integrity in how well they live up to their espoused values, striving to be honest and fair. Explore in more detail, the importance of integrity as a leadership trait.
6. Consistency
Consistency in decision-making, behaving in a reliable and predictable manner.
For CEOs, the seventh behaviour is:
7. Accessibility
Accessibility means simply being available to your staff. This can be conveyed through strong communication.
Are you a trustworthy leader?
Test yourself with our scorecard. This scorecard is available to access for FREE for a limited time only as part of our Index of Leadership Trust research.
How to Build Trust in the Workplace
How did you do in our 'Building Trust' scorecard test? No matter the outcome, there's always more to learn about building trust in the workplace. Discover the importance, steps and academic resources all about building trust, in our guide.