What does Trust Create?

In today’s changing world, we count on partnership and team work to achieve business results. Trust is an essential element of a true partnership and effective team work.

What is trust? It is hard to define. Without trust, we suffer and our business suffers.

Why?

- Trust creates safety and comfort

Trust is something that we tend to ignore until we have been betrayed or violated. For example, when we drive, we trust other drivers to hold their lane and obey the traffic laws. At the same time, we trust ourselves to be on the road with good judgment and attention. If we were hit by a careless driver one day, we would be more cautious and feel less secure on the road. The safe and comfortable feelings can only be recovered when we regain our trust.

- Trust creates enthusiasm and revenue

Once trust is established in an organization, people are willing to speak up, to offer ideas and to contribute with extra effort. They are engaged and clear about the goals. They enjoy their work and productivity goes up. When trust is violated, information is guarded and confidentiality takes over transparency. People can’t contribute since they don’t have feasibility into the confidential projects. People start to lose enthusiasm and energy drops.

- Trust creates relationships and prosperity

Once trust is established in a business networking group, entrepreneurs can count on each other for referring, for building reputation, for advancing their products and enhancing their services. The network grows with energetic entrepreneurs. Relationships and prosperity grow accordingly. If people can’t trust the partnership in the network, they won’t be devoted for referring or to promote the group. The networking loses its purpose and prosperity becomes an unreachable dream.

- Behaviors common in people with high-trust relationships

In his book “The speed of trust”, Stephen Covey gives a tip on the 13 behaviors common in people with high-trust relationships.

Talk straight

Demonstrate respect

Create transparency

Right wrongs

Show loyalty

Deliver results

Get better

Confront reality

Clarify expectations

Practice accountability

Listen first

Keep commitments

Extent trust

If you would like to be trusted by your customers, your partners or your boss, ask Yourself some questions around these behaviors. For example, do you talk straight? What might stop you from talking straight? To whom can’t you talk straight? What’s the impact to your relationships when you talk straight?

Also, please interview a few people to find out their perception of you around those behaviors. For example, do they consider you as a person that keeps commitments? Do they count on you to deliver results?  

- Build Trust

1. Gain the self-awareness on your behaviors in relationships
2. Learn to practice trustworthy behaviors
3. When people don’t trust you, ask yourself “what I can do to earn their trust?”
4. Trust Yourself
5. Restore trust when trust is broken.

- Restore Trust

When you break trust, don’t panic.  Trust can be restored. Restoring trust can take time and the time spent is relative to the trust level in the relationships. For those who have raised teens, you might remember how many times your teen restored trust with you in their teen years.

In the high trust relationship, betrayal can be seen as a part of the process and be embraced as an opportunity for improving communication and understanding. In the low trust relationship, betrayal can be very costly. People can get discouraged and resigned quickly. It would take significant time to restore the trust.

With trust, our life works and our business grows.