Date: 11/11/2015

Title: BUILDING TRUST – Part 2

By Jennifer Erickson

Relationship trust is about the trust we have in our relationships with others. There are three parts to this: develop, extend, and restore. Relationships are hard, even when things are going well. If you toss in a lack of trust, you’ve just ignited a powder keg.

Developing trust depends on how you behave. Remember, all trust starts with you. Do you act from a set of guiding principles? Do people know they can count on you? Or, do you throw people under the proverbial bus?

To extend trust, you first have to behave in a trusting manner. Then, you make the decision to trust another. This is based on what’s at stake, the publicness of the task, and the person’s competence. You don’t have to have 100% on all three area to extend trust. Sometimes, we take a chance on people. Just don’t leave them hanging out to dry. If they need resources to do a task, give them those resources. Remember, as a leader extends trust, she is developing that team member.

Sometimes, somebody makes a mistake. Something big doesn’t get done. Messages get missed. Behavior doesn’t align with words. We then make the decision whether or not to restore trust. We don’t do this blindly. Research states we consider three things: the severity of the loss, the importance of the relationship, and whether are all parties willing to work to restore trust? This takes some soul-searching. Sometimes, a person decides the relationship isn’t worth salvaging and trust isn’t restored. At times, we may continue the relationship, but are a bit wary. In other words, we’ll have coffee with someone, but won’t do business with them.

Bottom line, to be a good leader, we have to ensure trust is one of the foundational aspects of ourselves. All trust starts with us.

To learn more about how to practice this understanding, contact Results Group, LLC at www.ResultsGroupLLC.com or 515-330-2866.