Blog Post: Building Trust

I recently worked with Ginny McMinn of McMinn HR to deliver a class on building trust. One of the participants summed up our presentation by stating that it is really difficult to earn trust, but very easy to lose trust. Isn’t that a powerfully true statement!  

Why is it so hard to earn trust? And what actions build our trust?  Is there a way to earn trust permanently? And what actions destroy our trust? I can tell you that for me, honesty is absolutely imperative for building trust. Lie to me once, and trust is gone. Maybe that’s unfair, but it is based on my own personal and professional experiences.  I learned that for me trusting the wrong people could be very harmful.  

Our relationships with people and things depend on trust, and we take it for granted until it is lost. We trust our car to run when we get behind the wheel.  We trust that everyone on the road with us will follow the driving rules so we can get to our destinations safely. Translating this to the workplace, we trust that people we work with will deliver what they promise, consistently show up on time, and perform to certain standards or expectations. We come to rely on this trust at such a deep level that when our trust is broken we feel a personal and emotional loss or sense of betrayal.  

If you’re having difficulty with a relationship, check your level of trust and the actions that have built or destroyed that trust.  You’ll have at least part of the answer to what is causing the difficulties.