“Trust me. Just trust me.”
A senior leader new to one of my companies kept repeating to the team, “Trust me.”
Even I grew frustrated by the repetition and asked, “Are you a leader worth trusting?”
The blunt feedback stopped her in her tracks and evoked a vulnerable conversation. In her previous company, she had the trust of her team…and knew the positive impact. She wanted it now.
However, in her will to perform and push the team, she wasn’t patient and deliberate. She was never given their trust. It was a short, ineffective stint.
Positional authority does not give you the right to ask for trust. You must build world-class relationships.
And even then…you don’t “earn” trust in some magic formula.
The other person GIVES you trust. How?
According to “The Attributes,” the four pillars of trust are:
1️⃣ Competency: I trust you to do the thing right.
2️⃣ Consistency: I trust you to do the thing right over time.
3️⃣ Integrity: I trust you to do the right thing.
4️⃣ Compassion: I trust you to do the right thing for someone because you care about them as a human being.
“Speed of Trust” discusses the impact. Study after study shows that teams and organizations that operate with high trust significantly outperform teams and organizations with low trust.
I can’t think of any situation where the goal of “trust” in a relationship isn’t extremely valuable. Adhering to the four pillars will always build meaningful relationships.
When you make trust the conscious intention of your relationship, it changes your thinking and the gravity of your actions. With every action, you are either building trust or breaking it down.
What’s your take on the importance of trust?
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