Did you ever stop to think why American Express, Master Card or Visa are willing to give you a credit card? If you do take a moment to think about it, and get deeper into the underlying reasoning, you will come eventually to the thought that you are issued a card because the issuer TRUSTS you. That’s right, it’s a matter of TRUST. They know that you can be trusted to pay your obligations.
You might say it’s a matter of keeping your commitments. Your commitment to pay the card issuer for the amounts you have charged.
That’s one form of trust.
Another is the trust between people in organizations, whether it’s a business, non-profit, school, family, club or whatever. Just like the credit card, trust between peoples depends largely on keeping commitments.
Have you ever waited and waited and waited for a service person to arrive at your house or your office? And after waiting for hours, you get a call that says they won’t be there for another day? After one or two experiences like that, do you still trust them? Probably not. It’s very hard to trust people who don’t keep their commitments to you. Years ago a youngster asked what he could do in the summer between school sessions. I suggested getting a lawn mower, and cutting grass. Then came my advice to him: “Be reliable. If you say you’re going to do something -- do it. And do it well.”
It must have been good advice. By summer’s end he had 100 customers and nine employees, and a successful new business was born.
Back to the issue of trust.
Can you trust someone who frequently tells lies? Or half truths? Of course not. Think of such a person as a snake -- and when you deal with them think of yourself as a snake handler. But you don’t trust them. They won't keep a commitment to telling the truth.
The same applies to someone who is inconsistent. One time they react one way and another time another way. It’s hard to know what they’re going to do. So be careful -- don’t give them your trust.
In business it’s the same. We trust people who keep commitments, who tell the truth, who are consistent. And we also watch out for hidden agendas. Perhaps that’s a subset of honesty. They're not being honest about their agenda.
Other things that build a culture of trust include:
- Sticking to the established policies. Regularly bending rules leads to inconsistency and eventually to a lack of trust.
- Communication. Telling people what is going on.
- Minimizing surprises.
- Having a vision and sticking to the path toward it. It’s hard to trust someone who bounces from wall to wall, an opportunist who stands for nothing. Where will they be next?
- Integrity. If a person cheats others, might not you be on the list?
- Honesty. One client lied to me on a regular basis. It didn’t take long before I had no trust for them, and ended the engagement.
- Making but not keeping promises. It’s the old commitment thing again.
- Not keeping to yourself those things told you in confidence.
- Building trust is not magic. Avoid doing the things that cause you not to trust others. You’ll find that people begin to trust you. With trust, anything can be done. Without it, nothing can be done.
If being trusted is important to you, practice the above. Trust builds superior organizations. You can trust me on this.
Charles R. Schaul, Partner of SixPillars Research Group, focuses on increasing business profits by resolving the problem of customer attrition. Aligning companies with their customers; generating and implementing strategic initiatives; and promoting employees’ customer focus through commitment, responsibility and accountability combine to achieve the result.
Copyright 2008 by Charles R. Schaul, Boulder, Colorado. All rights reserved.
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