To cultivate trust, it is imperative that we understand how it works. We have long been taught that trust has to be earned. But the recent events of the past few years have turned the old adage on its head, and it is becoming increasingly apparent that trust, that most valuable of commodities, is indeed, granted, not earned.
In the workplace, trust can be organically cultivated over time. One by one, key stakeholders experience consistency and transparency, and learn to trust one another. Employees, put their faith in leaders, who support them through challenges. In the face of a highly shifting economic environment, the embedding of trust can no longer be left to chance. Companies, and leaders, are discovering the need to entrench trust in their core foundations, promoting, strengthening, and monitoring it as a key driver of tangible enterprise value.
For many, the effort to improve trust across all levels includes evaluating proposals that affect stakeholder relations across the enterprise, then developing tailored policies that can be supervised periodically. While these are all valid objectives to achieve, CFOs, as well as other C-suite executives, may deem it necessary to often question whether their actions are affiliated with their intent, and whether the business has the required competencies to deliver on that intent. With all the posed challenges, this leads us into understanding the redefined role of the CFO, not only in the Middle East, but worldwide.
Ensuring resilience of the organisation by constantly improving upon the organisation’s capabilities of responding to all risks as they appear is part of a CFO’s core responsibilities. CFOs are one of the key players in managing risks and seizing opportunities as they arise. In order to effectively do this, it is essential that the CFO has the full trust of all parties along the chain, as being trusted allows for more effective and smoother organisational operations. Additionally, trust is a key requirement for effective leadership and management.
We focus on building a culture at Alhokair that encourages innovation and forward thinking by rewarding and encouraging the challenge of the status quo. This happens by ensuring that employees are fully supported and appreciated in the process. Additionally, we constantly work on improving the internal cooperation and communication of the organisation and ensure flexibility and confidence in employees, all while maintaining good governance.
As a suite C-suite leader, I acknowledge that it is our collective responsibility to build a healthy organisational culture that encourages and nurtures innovation, sustainability, and productivity at both individual and organisational levels. This can be achieved by adopting an empowering style of leadership, fostering trust, close collaboration, and innovation.
Ultimately, the aspiration is to develop an environment where everyone within the business ecosystem not only owns trust but advocates it. The increase in trust can be mirrored in indicators ranging from innovative adoptions to enhanced collaboration, ultimately culminating in better business performance.
Ahmed Belbesy is the chief financial officer at Fawaz Alhokair Retail.
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