Page 99 - Managing the Mobile Workforce

78 � mAnAgIng the moBIle workForCe

behaviors, and looking over their shoulders every 30 minutes to see if
they are really working, which can lead to a vicious downward cycle
of distrust and suspicion. Rather, he says, we want to keep that cycle
going upward:

We want to avoid the extremes of blind trust and distrust and find the
third alternative, smart trust that really comes to life and is especially
vital in a virtual environment. That smart trust is balancing that high
level of trust but equally high analysis so that we use good judgment.
That is both directions—the judgment of the mobile managers extend-
ing smart trust to their people and the judgment of the mobile workforce
coming back and illustrating how they are appropriately running with
that trust that’s been given.

It is this kind of smart trust, he says, that really enables a virtual
workforce to take off.

Trust is essential for building teams, leading organizations and,
especially, working at a distance. Remember that girlfriend you tried
to keep when you each went to a different university? That relation-
ship was not very easy, was it? If you’ve ever had a long-distance per-
sonal relationship, you know how hard it is to maintain trust over time
and geography. It’s no different with your workforce. Trust building