Building Trust in a Wold Of Uncertainty
In 2009 at the World Economic Forum in China, world leaders declared that our biggest crisis as a global population is a lack of trust and a lack of confidence.
As leaders, it is our responsibility to build trust with our clients, co-workers, family, and friends. This idea is sometimes overshadowed by other things that we have come to understand as the recipe for building a successful relationships, but without trust, there is no foundation to build upon.
Trust is the foundation of great organizations, great teams, and great relationships, and should be seen as the keystone for success. With scandals going on in the media, the political unrest of the world, and the unknown future of the global economy, there is nothing of greater importance than focusing on building trust.
Leaders that have built upon trust enjoy better relationships, reputations, retention, revenue and results. The book The Trust Edge by David Horsager highlights one simple concept:
Trust is our biggest expense.
The lower the trust level within a relationship, the more time everything takes, the more everything costs, and the lower the loyalty of everyone involved. Conversely, an environment of trust leads to greater innovation, morale, and productivity. “The trusted leader is followed. From the trusted salesperson, people will buy. For the trusted brand, people will pay more, come back and tell others. Trust, not money, is the currency of business and life.”
Trust is a confident belief in someone or something. It is the confident belief in a person or an entity:
• To do what is right
• To deliver what is promised
• To be the same every time, whatever the circumstances
In order to build trust and continue to sharpen our Trust Edge with our communities, David Horsager has provided The Eight Pillars:
The pillars
Consistency — we trust people that do the same thing every single time. When you have an opportunity to deliver on a promise, do it, always.
Clarity — We trust the clear, and we distrust or mistrust the ambiguous. We respect people that are clear about the most important things that need to be done.
Compassion — We trust those who care most about others and care beyond themselves.
Character — True leaders that do what needed to be done, when it needed to be done, whether or not they felt like doing it. Many people do what they feel like, rather than what they ought to do. It is the work of life to do what is right over what is easy. They live healthier, people want to follow them, buy from them, and listen to them.
Contribution — At the end of the day, there needs to be results. If the results are not what was expected or asked for, there is a level of trust lost.
Competence — We trust the person that stays fresh, relevant and capable of accomplishing what they are supposed to be trusted in. This pillar is built upon inputs that lead to outputs.
Connection — The ability to connect and collaborate builds trust. People who work together to get things done are seen as trustworthy. They are not independent, they are not co-dependent, they are interdependent, by using the best of everyone to achieve the best results.
The greatest competitive advantage that a person, company, or group of people can have it trust.
I encourage you to reflect on the trust that you have with others, and determine how you can increase that trust, by using the 8 pillars provided above.
Our generation has the potential to make massive movement in the world. Let’s pull together and build something great together.
