Good governance creates trust - a firm belief in the honesty and reliability of another.
Stephen M R Covey reminds us that widespread distrust decreases the speed of response and increases costs. The business case for creating trusted relationships is clear.
What is also apparent is that societal distrust is growing. The Ipsos Global Reputation Centre 2016 survey found that 61% disagree with the statement ‘I trust business leaders to tell the truth.’ The respondents ranked company honesty and integrity as more important to them than the quality of products, services and customer service.
Public scrutiny is made easy in the digital world. Better informed stakeholders expect continuous dialogue with those organisations of interest to them. The reputation of boards is built on demonstrating effective governance and loss of confidence results from failing to recognise and manage stakeholder expectations.