Traditional methods for building trust between managers and workers are to stress common objectives, build group spirit, and offer motivational rewards.
But this “shared fate” approach is flawed, contend Samuel Culbert and John J. McDonough, co-authors of Radical Management: Power Politics and the Pursuit of Trust .
“It is impossible to keep redefining every situation so that all employees feel they have the same goal, and it is unrealistic to expect people to continually subordinate their personal interests,” says McDonough, a professor of management at UCLA. He has found that real trust grows when employees are consistently shown that their needs are understood and respected. ..more
