Tips to Increase Trust and Communication on Campus

Abstract

Listen

Translate article

According to a recent Gallup poll, only 61% of people in the United States feel some trust in “the American people” to make judgments about political issues. This is a sharp drop from its recent high of 78% in 2005. For better or worse, trust in fellow citizens exceeds trust in politicians or public officials, which is at only 46%. How is trust on your campus? Do people trust their colleagues and the administration? Or does the general deterioration of trust extend into higher education? Dr. Carole Makela, professor in Colorado State University's school of education, has been collaborating on research about trust with Dr. Paul Shelton, associate professor of management and chair of the DBA program in the George Fox University OR college of business. She spoke at the Women in Educational Leadership Conference in Lincoln NE in October 2013. Effective leadership depends on trust. She quoted John J. McGuirk, “The ability to form friendships, to make people believe in you and trust you is one of the few absolutely fundamental qualities of success.” Trust and distrust fall on two separate scales. “We usually come into a situation either somewhat neutral or with a basic level of trust,” she told WIHE. As the situation proceeds, we may shift along the continuum between trust and no trust. But if trust has been shattered, people may start out with distrust. We have to overcome that initial distrust before trust can start to form. Two recent trends complicate issues of trust on campus. First, higher education is changing faster than ever, threatening trust that otherwise might have been routine. Second, communication technology is carrying us ever further away from face-to-face conversations, where body language can help. Communication plays a major role in building and maintaining trust. Not only email but also social media like Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter exclude the visual and auditory cues to tone and context. Blind copies, “Forward” and “Reply all” make private communications public and increase the distance between originator and recipient. Using semi-public emails sent out to various groups that were part of at their universities, the researchers sorted the messages into three categories: top down, peer to peer and bottom up. Each type requires a different approach. What is the message? Does it promote trust or distrust? Peer to peer. Communication among peers is more often face to face. It is also more likely to involve women, whose communication styles may be different. “I think there's more willingness to ask questions rather than jump to conclusions on the part of women,” Makela said. When questions give a sense that everybody is part of the team, trust grows. But if the one whose data is questioned interprets it as a challenge, her trust may decline. Higher education is changing at breakneck speed. Issues of engagement, retention, diversity, finance, policy and transparency are challenging leadership and traditions of shared governance. “It's very easy to forget how important trust is in our relationships, whether personal or professional,” she said. It's an issue in all sorts of relations—politics, economics, education—but we tend to brush it aside in our everyday interactions. Contact her at Carole.Makela@ColoState.edu