I’m sorry to disappoint I don’t mean gin and tonic (although I am partial to a gin and tonic on a Saturday evening).  I might have your attention though.

I mean goodwill and trust.

Organisations run on goodwill it is often the one thing that differentiates between organisational adequate performance and organisational exceptional performance.

But what is goodwill – and I’m not talking about goodwill in accountancy terms here.

goodwill

/ɡʊdˈwɪl/

noun

friendly, helpful, or cooperative feelings or attitude.

If we look at some of the synonyms for goodwill, we get a better feel for the word:

·       benevolence

·       compassion

·       kind-heartedness

·       big-heartedness

·       goodness

·       kindness

·       kindliness

·       consideration

·       charity

·       cooperation

And how important are these now in today’s world?  I’ll just let that question hang there for a moment.

But why is it important in an organisation?  Goodwill shown by leaders is a key that unlocks discretionary effort; encouraging and supporting people to act in an “a – b – c – d” way.  (Above and Beyond the Call of Duty.

But it also needs time to develop, and it needs to be nurtured as it is very fragile.

Goodwill takes time to develop and can be broken very easily. Once goodwill is broken it can be hard to repair.

Goodwill is developed bit by bit through little pieces of appreciation and making people feel valued for not just what they do but for who they are.  It is about appreciating differences being authentic and putting people at the heart of what you do.

It is, for this reason, I feel a little uncomfortable with the term Human Resources.  To me, the name seems to label people as just one of many resources to be used.  Human can be interchanged with financial, technical etc.  I know the profession has and perhaps still is struggling with the term.  There are many alternatives out there – people and development – people operations – employee experience, for example. However, a change of name without making fundamental changes of what we do to grow, nurture, and protect goodwill will make no difference at all.  Anyway – I digress a little.

Goodwill has a partner – trust.

Trust is a word that is used widely, yet do we ever take time to consider what constitutes trust?  Yes, it is about acting with integrity, deeds matching words; it is about having and showing a firm belief in the character, strength, and competence of someone. It is also about benevolence, being honest and open and being committed to doing good.  And being committed to doing good also means being committed to doing the hard and difficult things and not consigning them to that “too hard box” that sometimes sits in the corner.  That “too hard box” is just one place where trust is eroded.

So, what do you do that displays trust and builds and nurtures goodwill?

What are the things that we can do that shows kindness and our commitment to doing good each day? Even the small things help to build goodwill and trust.  And we certainly need these things today.

Here’s to more G & T.

Goodwill and Trust! G & T anyone?