24 How does organizational trust differ from interpersonal trust?
Organizational trust can be viewed as employees trusting the organization that they work for and in the leaders that make decisions on behalf of the organization. One way of addressing organizational trust is by looking at relationships between leaders and staff members in a building. Leaders make decisions that affect the staff members that work in that building. Organizational trust is broader than individual or interpersonal trust because it includes a decision-making component.
Individual trust between two people relies on confidence in the other person’s actions, but organizational trust relies on confidence that those with power will make decisions that positively affect others.
Organizational trust inherently includes a hierarchy of power between the people making decisions and the people whose lives those decisions affect because of the hierarchy of power within an organization. The trust involves two parties: leaders of the organization and members of the organization. This type of power dynamic is not typically present in relationships with individual or interpersonal trust, making it a defining feature between organizational trust and interpersonal trust.
Since organizational trust involves a hierarchy of power, there will inevitably be people at the bottom of that hierarchy. It’s important for people higher up in the hierarchy to empower those who inherently have less power.
One way for schools to empower caregivers is by using open communication and transparency. This will allow caregivers to be more aware of events, programs, or students’ individual needs and goals.
Schools should also share the knowledge that they have with caregivers in order to empower caregivers to play a greater role in their student’s education.
For some caregivers, education can appear as something out of their realm of knowledge, which leaves them in a position where they may not be confident in their children’s education. With open communication and knowledge sharing, caregivers will be able to be more involved in their student’s education and have more trust in the education professionals working with their student. It’s also important that schools provide time and space for caregivers’ voices to be heard. This can manifest in the form of a PTA/PTO, suggestion box, surveys, and more.
When teachers and administrators create a school community where caregivers feel safe, valued, and welcomed, they foster an environment where caregivers can feel comfortable sharing their concerns, ideas, and experiences.
In addition to the ways that schools can empower caregivers and create opportunities to build trust in the school, schools should find ways to remove families’ barriers to accessing the conditions that create trust in the school. For example, open communication is a powerful way to build trust with families, however the communication must be in the families’ languages for it to be impactful. Similarly, providing forums for families and caregivers to voice their opinions will only build trust if families are able to access the language of the survey and participate in the PTA meetings in their language. Hosting and inviting families to events to help them learn more about the school and their student’s education is a great strategy, but schools must consider caregivers’ work schedules that could prevent them from participating in these events meant to foster community and trust. Barriers will look different for each family, so it’s important that schools get to know their families and their needs in order to best support them and foster a relationship of trust.
