Page 171 - Anne Bruce - Building A HIgh Morale Workplace (2002)

Engendering Hope, Trust, Faith, and Belief ... 151

For Hope to Prevail, Passion Must Endure

There’s really only one inherent trait necessary when it comes
to holding hope high—especially when times are tough and
morale is low—and that’s passion for the people, the kind of
passion that instills in people a belief in the possibilities that lie

ahead.
How do you feel about the people on your team?
Passionate? How do you feel about what your team is doing?
Passionate? Do you believe in the possibilities that lie ahead?
The best managers feel passionate about their work and

their employees—and the feeling spreads and inspires.

Managers Are the Guardians of Trust

Trust is essential when it comes to managing others and pro-
moting high performance. In fact, trust is the very foundation
upon which all of our relationships are built. Tom Peters may

have put it best when he said, “Technique and technology are
important, but adding trust is the issue of the decade.”
Trust should be treated as a primary management concern.
Managers and their employees can perform at their peak only

when trust is alive and well within the organization.

Manager’s Key Questions on Trust
By answering the following questions, you will gain a
greater appreciation for the sanctity of trust and the enor-
mous impact it can have on morale.
• Think of a time when trust in the organization was lost.What was
the situation? What were the consequences? How did it make peo-
ple feel? How did it make you feel?
• Was the lost trust ever regained? If not, why not? If yes, how?
• What do you think is the powerful connection between trust and
hope when it comes to building high morale in the workplace?
Trust between managers and employees is something that is earned
over time.When a manager breaks a bond of trust with an employee,
it is almost impossible to regain or repair.