Seeing Trust Above

Strategic thinking also includes seeing above, which means that strategic thinkers must be able to see "the big picture." Mintzberg (1991) remarks that seeing above is not sufficient to get the true big picture and, therefore, seeing above should not be interpreted as managers staying in their offices building strategies.

Seeing above demands continuous information seeking and scanning both internal and external information sources. Previous studies (see e.g., Katzer & Fletcher, 1992; Choo & Auster, 1993) have shown that management is an information-intensive profession, that managers spend most of their time with others, communicating about a wide variety of topics, and that information has an important role in managerial work. More specifically, Mintzberg (1973) described managers' various informational roles as a monitor, who is seeking and receiving information, as a disseminator, who is transmitting special information to the organization, and as a spokesman, who is disseminating the organization's information into the environment. Accordingly, the managers' informational roles form the basis for all managerial work and are linked with managers' interpersonal roles (figurehead, leader, and liaison) and decisional roles (entrepreneur, disturbance handler, resource allocator, and negotiator).

In spite of the importance of information and communication in managerial work, managers might lack the essential information that is needed to be able to get a big picture. Katzer and Fletcher (1992) refer to the managers' dilemma: on one hand, managers receive too much information while, on the other hand, they do not get enough of the right information. However, we also face today another serious dilemma: managers could get enough information that is needed, but they do not take it because they lack the ability to listen. Seeing above also means real listening and the ability to interpret information that is available. Seeing trust above demands listening to the signs of trust or mistrust.

The requirement for managers to listen to obtain the big picture cannot be overemphasized. Kouzes and Posner (1995), who collected a huge amount of data on middle-and senior-level managers to find best leadership practices, stress the role of listening when they state: "Listening is one of the key characteristics of exemplary leaders. In our discussion of challenging the process, we identified listening as part of a leader's repertoire for gaining outsight. To truly hear what your constituents want — what they desperately hope to make you understand, appreciate, and include within the vision — requires that you periodically suspend your regular activity and spend time listening to others" (p. 146).

To see trust above means also seeing how trust flows in the organizations. Although trust must have two-way flows and it is developed reciprocally through trust response, managers have to take a special responsibility for the flow of trust inside the organization. Davenport and Prusak (1998) even claim that because trust tends to flow downward through organizations it must start at the top. They emphasize that upper management's example often defines the norms and values of the organization. The importance of managers' own behavior as a role model in building trust inside the organization was supported by the findings of Iivonen and Harisalo's (1996) empirical study of Finnish public libraries (see also Iivonen, 1999).