CoChairs: Natalie Schoch – Kellogg CompanyLeonard Huskey – US Army Research Laboratory

SMEs: Robert McNamee – Temple UniversityAndrew Maxwell – York UniversityHelen Leighton – Leighton Maxwell Inc

Weak Ties & Innovation RORDeploying The Behavioral

Trust Framework

Today’s Agenda

• Origins in weak ties ROR• Links between Trust > Collaboration > Innovation effects• Background to Trust Research• The Behavioural Trust Framework (BTF) Diagnostic Tool• Applications for the BTF• Opportunities and challenges when using the BTF• Developing a resource for IRI members• Debrief • Next steps

2

Weak ties ROR identified importance of weak ties as an innovation source and challenges in developing relationships with weak ties.

Building trust with weak ties critical to managing relationship risk.

High levels of relationship trust facilitate knowledge sharing:• reduces concerns about misappropriation or misuse

• accelerates knowledge sharing - enabling rapid absorption

• reduces transaction and verification costs

• speeds relationship development through incomplete contracts

Alternatively manage risk through controls => negative impact

Innovation, weak ties and trust

3

• Investigated the decision of Business Angels, we found the decision to invest dependent on assessment of relationship risk

• Relationship risk is risk that entrepreneur will take advantage of investor, or make decisions poor quality decisions

• The investor’s assessment of relationship risk was mitigated by the assessment of the entrepreneur’s trustworthiness

• The assessment of trustworthiness was based on the the investor auditing the entrepreneur’s behaviors:• Entrepreneurs who exhibit more trust building behaviors

more likely to receive investment• Entrepreneurs who exhibit more trust damaging behaviors

less likely to receive investment• Entrepreneurs who exhibit trust violating behaviors were

unlikely to receive investment

Original Research into Trust Behaviors

4

Defining and Understanding Trust“Engaging with another party and being willing to be vulnerable to their actions

without direct means of controlling their actions or behaviours1”

• Acceptance that trust is required to build relationships to enable collaboration that fosters innovation

• Much written about trust; but limited understanding of how to apply trust as a construct to enhance innovation

• Used observational interaction to develop the Behavioural Trust Framework (BTF) allows individuals to understand trust-building and trust-damaging behaviours

• BTF allows individuals to audit their own and others’ trust behaviours, and to modify their behaviours in order to reduce relationship risk (and foster innovation)

1. Mayer, Davis & Schoorman, 1995 5

The Innovation Equation

• Trust a necessary pre-condition for effective collaboration• Controls have the unintended consequence of reducing

the need for trust and stifling collaborative approaches.• Common controls: employment contracts, performance

reviews, annual budgeting, rigid organizational structures and reporting relationships, over-applied lean methodology, outcome-based objective setting)

• A higher level of trust creates virtuous cycle, reduces need for controls, enables collaboration, catalyzes innovation

Innovation Capacity = Level of Collaboration x Relevant Resources

Level of Collaboration = ƒ(trust level in relationship)

Trust Level = ∫(Trust building - trust damaging behaviours) - ƒ(controls)

Twelve Trust Dimensions

Trusting:• Disclosing - Showing vulnerability by sharing information• Reliance - Being willing to be vulnerable through relying on others• Receptiveness - Demonstrating ‘coachability’ and the willingness to change

Capability:• Competence – Displaying relevant technical and/or business ability• Experience - Demonstrating relevant work/training experience• Judgment - Confirming the ability to make accurate and objective decisions

Trustworthiness:• Consistency - Displaying behaviours that confirm previous promises• Benevolence - Exhibiting concern about the well-being of others• Alignment - Actions that confirm shared values and/or objectives

Communication:• Accuracy - Providing truthful and timely information• Explanation - Explaining details & consequence of information provided• Openness - Being open to new ideas or new ways of doing things

7

Example: Behavioural Trust Framework for Trustworthiness - Consistency

Trust Dimension

Behaviour that builds trust

Behaviour that raises suspicion

about trust

Behaviour that damages trust

Behaviour that violates

trustConsistencyDisplaying behaviours that confirm previous promises

Proactively articulates promises and agreements and holds self accountable for meeting them

Exhibits unpredictability in meeting promises and keeping agreements

Fails to keep promises and agreements

Makes promises and agreements without intention to keep them

9

Example: Behavioural Trust Framework for Trustworthiness - Consistency

Trust Dimension

Behaviour that builds trust

Behaviour that raises suspicion

about trust

Behaviour that damages

trust

Behaviour that violates

trustConsistency Proactively

articulates promises and agreements and holds self accountable for meeting them

Exhibits unpredictability in meeting promises and keeping agreements

Fails to keep promises and agreements

Makes promises and agreements without intention to keep them

Remedy Improve communicationsDocument agreements

Introduce controls

Rethink relationship

10

Behavioural Trust Framework: Trustworthiness/Capability

12

Behavioural Trust Framework: Trusting/Communication

Exercise

• Think about an individual with whom you need to work to accomplish something and where the relationship is struggling

• Read through the descriptions for the 12 trust dimensions on the Behavioural Trust Framework

• Circle the statement that best describes the individual’s behaviour for each dimension

• Write an example of the behaviour• Write an idea that will help remedy any trust issues

13

Debrief

• What are you more aware of with respect to the relationship?

• What are you more aware of about trust?• How might you use the BTF?

14

Working With the Behavioural Trust Framework

• Helps individuals (and teams) identify and understand their own trust-building and trust-damaging behaviours and habits

• Enables them to understand others’ trust behaviours and become skilled trust auditors

• Supports them to practice trust-building behaviours• Supports forging trust-based relationships internally and with

outside partners that lead to information and idea exchange• Provides a practical framework for coaching individuals on

their own individual trust practices• Introduces a common framework and language to discuss

trust as a defined and explicit construct

16

Behavioural Trust Framework is being used:• To explore team dynamics in organizations looking to increase their

innovation capacity• To identify challenges in engaging with external innovation partners • To facilitate coaching discussions• To facilitate discussions between managers and subordinates• To enhance leadership performance• Marriage

• We already have evidence that users of the framework can identify actions they can take to reduce controls, increase trust or repair trust damage.

• We are now gathering data on the use of the tool – to create a valuable resource for those interested in enhancing their innovation capacity.

17

Thank you

If you are interested in the white paper, accessing the Behavioural Trust Framework, or becoming a research partner, please contact:

Andrew.Maxwell@lassonde.yorku.caHelen.Leighton@gmail.com

You can download the survey from http://goo.gl/IXj3Wi

Potential Multi-Company Study

• Identify where weak tie relationships can foster innovation

• Use Trust Survey to audit trust damaging and building behaviors

• Identify root cause of behaviors• Prescribe specific individual, team & organizational

remedies• Participate in a 2 day workshop to share results and

make recommendations• Publish tools and white paper to be shared with IRI

community

Although traditional innovation sources important, new sources of innovation are increasingly significant:• Organization designed to leverage extant relationships; unintentionally

discourages developing new internal and external relationships• Reliance on traditional relationships (strong ties) and formal procedures

(i.e. contracts) limits collaboration, speed, and experimentation• Company designed to discourage risk taking. Individuals don’t know how

to develop strategic relationships or make/mitigate, risky decisions• Current organization practices make it difficult to establish and sustain

(weak tie) relationships with new sources of innovation

Our approach helps identify current organizational constraints and suggests alternate approaches

Changing your organization’s design to facilitate higher rates of innovation