184 Global Ethics for Leadership
tend to protect it. An environment of trust is needed for employees to be
willing to share their expertise with others, while situations of distrust
will have the opposite effect. Trust, consequently, is crucial to unlocking
and facilitating the flow of knowledge and information within organisa-
tions.
- Trust Promotes Loyalty
Trust promotes loyalty within an organization and between an organ-
ization and its external stakeholders. The nature of trust is such that it
always entails a relationship between at least two parties. By trusting
another party, you rely on that party for the achievement of your goals.
Consequently, one transcends the narrow confines of one’s own interests
and involves others in reaching one’s objectives. In the case of what is
called bi-directional or mutual trust, co-operative alliances are formed
around specific goals. This adds to the social cohesion both within an
organization and between an organization and its external stakeholders.
When someone honours your trust you feel loyalty to that person and
their goals. When leaders succeed in winning the trust of their subordi-
nates they can expect them to be more loyal to organisational goals. The
same holds true for the relationship between organizations and their ex-
ternal stakeholders. Trust can thus inspire loyalty which results in atti-
tudes and actions that advance the interests of both leaders and their
organizations.
13.6 Conclusion
Trust can thus be regarded as indispensable for constructive interper-
sonal relationships, but also for the collaborative relationships within
and between organisations and their internal and external stakeholders.
However, trust cannot be legislated, regulated or demanded. It can only
be earned. As has been seen in this chapter, whether others will trust a
person or organisation depends on trustworthiness. And our trustworthi-