Ankur Warikoo Advocates for Trust-Based Systems in Business on LinkedIn

In a recent LinkedIn post, Ankur Warikoo explores a contrarian approach to employee compensation and management, advocating for a culture built on trust rather than suspicion. Warikoo, the founder of wariCrew, challenges the conventional business practice of delayed payment cycles and extensive oversight, proposing that starting with trust can yield significantly better results.

Warikoo highlights the common industry standard of 30- or 60-day payment cycles within the creative sector. He contrasts this with his own company’s system, stating:

“At wariCrew, we did the opposite. Salaries are credited BEFORE the month begins. Every single person gets paid on the first day of the month.”

This direct reversal of a long-standing practice is at the heart of Warikoo’s argument. He anticipates common objections, such as concerns about employees leaving or misusing the advanced trust placed in them. However, Warikoo draws on his 15 years of experience building teams to assert that many existing workplace systems are fundamentally flawed because they are designed with a default assumption of employee fallibility.

Challenging Suspicion-Based Management

Warikoo argues that traditional management tactics like delayed salaries, strict attendance tracking, micromanagement, and multi-layered approval processes stem from a place of suspicion. He suggests that this approach creates a negative feedback loop.

In his view, the alternative is to build systems that begin with trust. This foundational shift, according to Warikoo, has a profound impact on employee behavior and engagement.

“Most systems at work are built assuming people will disappoint you. … Everything begins with suspicion. We decided to try the opposite. Start with trust.”

The results observed at wariCrew, as described by Warikoo, indicate a positive transformation. He notes that employees responded to this trust by becoming more responsible, accountable, and involved in their work. This suggests that the act of being trusted can itself be a powerful motivator.

The Power of Reciprocity

Warikoo posits that when individuals are shown trust first, they feel a natural inclination to reciprocate, often exceeding expectations. He elaborates on this phenomenon:

“Because when someone trusts you first, you naturally want to return it. 10X, in fact.”

This principle of reciprocity is a key element in his philosophy. It implies that a proactive stance of trust can unlock greater potential and commitment from employees than a system predicated on control and monitoring.

Culture as a Systemic Outcome

A significant part of Warikoo’s message focuses on how organizational culture is genuinely formed. He contends that culture is not merely a product of inspirational speeches or corporate slogans displayed on walls. Instead, he emphasizes the role of practical systems and consistent experiences.

Warikoo states:

“Culture is not built through motivational speeches or value statements on walls. It is built through systems. Through repeated signals. Through what people experience every month.”

This perspective suggests that the daily and monthly operational systems of a company serve as the most potent signals to employees about how they are valued and perceived. By consistently paying salaries on the first day of the month, wariCrew sends a clear, repeated signal of trust and respect.

The Impact of Trust on Performance

Ultimately, Ankur Warikoo concludes his post with a powerful affirmation of the potential that lies within employees when they are given the benefit of the doubt. He believes that organizations can foster higher levels of performance and commitment by shifting their foundational assumptions.

As Warikoo puts it:

“Trust people enough, and they will rise to meet it!”

His insights offer a compelling case for reconsidering traditional management paradigms and embracing trust as a core component of organizational design, suggesting it is a more effective driver of positive culture and performance than restrictive, suspicion-based systems.