Developing Trust

What is this ‘thing’ we refer to as trust?
Why is it so important to us?
How can we ‘build’ trust?

If you are reading this hoping to find the answers to these challenging Questions, it may be time for you to move on, because I cannot offer you THE answers … and nor can anybody else regardless of claims they may make to the contrary.

I am however, able to offer my answers.

Trust is a feeling, a kind of undefinable sense that one has towards another person or entity.
We can’t do anything with it, yet it governs the essence of our interactions with others.

When we really trust one another, we feel completely free and may have the feeling we can move mountains together.
On the other hand, when we distrust one another, especially after a trust has been abused, we may have the sense that nothing we may wish to do together is possible. And this can be traumatic.

Trust is a delicate flower that can break so easily.
Developing trust is never-ending, evolving with the experience of doing worthwhile things together. It is not something we “do”, but rather a feeling that we live.
It has everything to do with integrity … your feelings about mine; my feelings about yours.
It’s complex.

These are my answers, based on my personal experiences throughout my life, influenced too by the multitude of influencers that many people misleadingly refer to as ‘culture’.

What are yours?

Try this Question too, perhaps with a group of colleagues …

re002-trust-ppt

I began using it with management and project teams I was working with in the late 1990s in integration and conflict resolution processes, long before cultureQs was even a figment of my imagination. And I’ve since discovered it to be timeless.

Each individual needs the space to bring in their personal perspective.
All perspectives may (or may not) be different.
All are ‘right’ and equally valid.
Now … What are you going to do with them?

Developing mutual trust is a prerequisite for a team to be able to leverage its potential and deliver real value for the organisation.

If this approach appeals to you, cultureQs contains numerous additional Questions within a robust framework, enabling your team to accelerate its integration process.