Independents

Book of the Month: Creating a Culture of Trust

IndependentsJan 09, 2017

Book of the Month: Creating a Culture of Trust

National Jeweler’s book pick for January explores what happens to employees’ brains when they feel trusted, and why it’s good for business.

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New York--In 2016, National Jeweler brought readers a selection of recently released books each month that were jewelry or business focused.

This year, the publication’s editors have decided to narrow it down to just one book per month.

Read on to learn more about January’s selection and please let us know if you’ve read any great books lately in the comments below.

The Trust Factor: The Science of Creating High-Performance Companies
Paul J. Zak

Out this month from publishing house Amacom is The Trust Factor by neuroscientist Paul J. Zak.

In his book, Zak makes the case that building a culture of trust is essential for any organization that wants to succeed because being trusted releases the feel-good neurochemical oxytocin, and when oxytocin is released, employees are “revved up” to reciprocate by being trustworthy and more trusting of others.

This creates a culture that fosters engagement, accountability and commitment to excellent at all levels.

“Trust motivates a desire to make an extra effort to reach organization goals. A culture of trust is a powerful lever on human behavior--as long as it is properly implemented,” Zak said.

In his book, Zak identifies eight components of a culture where employees feel empowered, valued and happy, using OXYTOCIN as an acronym to do so. They are as follows:
--Ovation, recognizing colleagues who contribute to the organization’s success;
--eXpectation, setting high standards and stretching to meet those goals;
--Yield, empowering people to share their expertise and choose how to do projects;
--Transfer, enabling self-management and customized job crafting;
--Openness, sharing information broadly with colleagues;
--Caring, intentionally building relationships and prioritizing empathy;
--Invest, committing to individual development and work-life integration; and
--Natural, allowing leaders to be human, honest and vulnerable

The Trust Factor is currently available in hardback for $24. It is the second book from Zak, who also wrote 2013’s The Moral Molecule.
Michelle Graffis the editor-in-chief at National Jeweler, directing the publication’s coverage both online and in print.

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