Interaction Associates has just released the full report on our timely research, Building Trust in Business — containing the highly anticipated survey results from more than 150-companies across the business spectrum. If you are looking to know more about what causes people to trust the institutions of which they are a part, Building Trust in Business has a treasure trove of insights.

Leaders are confronted with tough, complex, and interconnected problems across the global business landscape today, most of which are unprecedented in size, scope, and breadth. The challenges these issues present are immense, from climate change and over-consumption (energy, water, food, etc.) to poverty, overpopulation, and starvation — to name just a few.

How does the lofty sounding notion of human dignity fit into the leadership mix for companies today, regardless of size or type of business?

In an extended internet radio interview, Linda Dunkel explores that important question at a very critical time, with more and more people exploring how to blend what they value with what they do for a living.
Linda also explores important leadership lessons learned at the helm of a dynamic and non-traditional organization — Interaction Associates.

What are some of the key takeaways from the recent Building Trust in Business best practices study?

The Matrix is back. Leaders at the helm of many companies know that it's not another movie sequel to the edgy thriller staring Keanu Reeves and Laurence Fishburne. Matrix management, that once-popular organizational structure, has many leaders facing a common challenge: How to make the matrix work?

First: How Did We Get Here?
Matrix management was widely embraced in the 70's and early 80's by companies looking to improve business decisions by convening cross-functional expertise to create better solutions.

We live in a curious time and certainly in business, this is one of the most challenging economies in anyone’s memory. There are negative indicators everywhere and nearly every company is challenged with adapting to operating amid great, though perhaps not permanent, uncertainty and shifting markets. Approval ratings for leaders and others in positions of authority— in every arena — at a dramatically low point.

Decision making during a crisis is the ultimate test for a leader. Especially when the problems are complex, roles become ambiguous, and urgent decisions get made hastily or pile up. The results are confusion and sometimes even paralysis. A leader can feel like the whole world is watching and waiting for decisive action that addresses issues and does it fast.

A recent Psychology Today article on workplace kindness examines a number of views and demonstrates how the word kindness itself can seem soft to many people in business. Perhaps with a precise definition and some important context, more people would agree that there's strategic value in workplace kindness. Let’s take a closer look.

Collaboration is getting all kinds of attention these days. But many of us innovating at the leading edge of collaboration — especially around the power of collaboration as a strategic business tool — are often puzzled by much of the dialog. The word "uneven" comes to mind, but the dialog’s also often misleading about what collaboration is, and isn’t.

Collaboration is at the center of an important shift for leaders as more and more companies move to decentralized management models — including managing in the matrix, flattened structures, and so on. Leaders now stress collaboration, including President Obama in a directive to leaders in his new administration.

I've blogged about that here.