but in an instant it can be destroyed by a deliberate or inconsiderate word or action.
But here Sprenger calls for caution and for accurate differentiation: did the other
party truly break the implicit contract of trust, or did they just fail to meet our (too
high) expectations? Trust will also be broken if the other fails to comply with
agreements without having made the attempt to renegotiate them.
Once it is too late and an employee has abused the trust of the leader, the latter
must reflect on his or her own share of responsibility and on what the consequences
could be. Sprenger emphasizes that, above all, managers shouldn’t allow them-
selves to become frustrated, insecure, suspicious, and vindictive, starting a spiral of
distrust.
When the supervisor for any reason starts monitoring all employees more
closely, they feel the withdrawal of trust (for the most of them this is totally
inexplicable) and no longer feel bound by the implicit contract. They reduce their
commitment, motivation declines and the balance of trust is lost. This only confirms
the suspicions of their superior, who responds by further tightening the controls.
Not infrequently this spiral leads to a complete collapse of the relationship.
Distrust in relation to an individual might be legitimate and indeed protect you
from harm; however, the reflexive generalization of mistrust is both unintelligent
and counterproductive. In general, you should both trust and distrust only on an
individual basis. Otherwise distrust will become a self-fulfilling prophecy. And:
“With trust you can win or lose. With distrust you always lose” (Sprenger 2002b,
p. 173).
But why do isolated breaches of trust lead so quickly to the rejection of the entire
concept of trust? The reason, says Sprenger, lies in our skewed perceptions: the
enormous gains made by well-placed trust in many successful collaborations
are recorded without comment and taken for granted. Yet the loss created by the
abuse of trust is felt immediately and intensely. After a theft nobody counts
the things not stolen, but only the stolen ones. Therefore, it is extremely dangerous
to introduce policies to prevent 5% of the people from doing something that the
remaining 95% would never dream of doing. You won’t succeed in catching
the 5%, but you will succeed in hindering and demotivating all of your staff.
In the event of a breach of trust the leader must not simply look away because of
some misguided tolerance or vain magnanimity. Anyone who does not act sends the
message: it is perfectly fine to abuse my trust and has no consequences. Doing so
destroys trust, as it must be clear: trust has its price. In keeping with the “ethics of
the second chance,” Reinhard Sprenger offers concrete advice on how to respond
when the implicit contract of trust is broken. The rules are:
Cooperate! First always offer cooperation.
If cooperation is accepted, work to establish lasting trust. Otherwise punish imme-
diately and without mercy!
After a certain time, make another offer of trust. But do not make a third.
Open confrontation creates trust and makes our behavior predictable. It is precisely
how conflicts are handled that is the “glue” that keeps a company together, as
Sprenger correctly observes (Fig.2.8).
98 2 Occupation or Calling: What Makes for Good Leadership?