It’s all about trust

I am in the people business. I teach, train, write, read, talk, record, coach, listen, and persuade . . . people.

Recent interactions, good and bad

For the last 6 months, when I look back on my emails and text messages with the 100+ people in my life, I see that the experiences – both good and bad – essentially come down to trust.

That’s surprising because don’t we often talk about competencies, talent, processes, roles and responsibilities, technology, resources, decision-rights, tools, best practices, and tons of other MBA minutiae? Yes, of course those management tools are important.  Of course, AND it seems to often boil down to trust.

Trust is the Glue

Without trust, you have a bunch of people and processes that don’t connect.

1. trust is fast

Perhaps this is an obvious point, but when you have trust, you have flow. There are fewer transaction costs, delays, and wasted time. Think about companies that vertically integrate (buying their suppliers or customers) with the idea that they want more control and smoother processes. 

Trust reduces the negotiations, contracts, double-checking, meetings, over-explaining and general bureaucracy. There is a good reason that Stephen Covey wrote a business book called, “Speed of Trust.

Recent example: I’ve hired 100+ different contractors for my rental properties over the last 15 years. However, there is only 3-4 people who I trust completely. I don’t ask them to “quote the price” of anything. I just ask them to go there, fix the problem, then send me the invoice. Is this fast – heck yes.  Did this trust develop overnight? No.

2. Trust creates focus

When a team trusts each other, the right things get done. You don’t need to have a prioritization matrix every time a decision needs to be made. We don’t need to draw a RASCI diagram to see who should do the work.

If you had 3 people opening up a tapas restaurant, do you think they would bicker about “who’s job it is to do XYZ?”  No, if it needs to get done, it gets done. In this poetic scenarios, process serves the purpose.

Recent example: Working with a client, we realize the something in the SoW just isn’t as relevant as we thought. Could you client have forced me to “complete the tasks, exactly outlined in the contract?”  Yes.  Would that have been a waste of the client & my time? Yes.  Did we use that time more productively on something else? Yes.

3. Trust requires norms

This is true of any community. We need to have a common understanding, expectations, and guardrails. Unless you have some way to benchmark my behavior, how do you know if my words and actions are “okay” or a threat? If you think X, but I think Y. . .well we’re both going to be disappointed, even though we have integrity to our own moral standards. This is where communication comes in. Without articulating what you expect, uh, no trust. 

That’s also why we look some social-proof that you are trustworthy and vetted. Sure, you belong to my church, or my hometown, or graduated summa cum laude from XYZ university, or have a CPA, you are a “safer bet.”

Yet, these are all just short-cuts to trust.

4. Trust requires consistency

Isn’t that how you build trust with someone?  Over time. You continually do great work, respect their time, and help them be successful?  When you first meet someone – yes, you are a stranger – there is no mutual history.

Recent example: One of my more recent clients has been reading this blog for the last 4-5 years. Although we’ve only started working together in the last 6 months, the 600+ blog posts have created a shared history. This is a clear reason why blogging – or any other way to sharing your work, portfolio, thoughts – with the public is good.

5. Trust requires grace

If you are moving a little fast (#1) with intense focus (#2), it’s likely that things will not be perfect. There will be times when things are said incorrectly, or the “right process” gets stepped over. Trust is not a six-sigma process. There will be “defects” but we’re talking about human relationships, not CNC milling of equipment.

I am a big believer in that saying (paraphrase): “Don’t attribute to malice (bad intent), which can be attributed to ignorance.” In common speak, “Let’s trust each other and forgive the silly mistakes.”

Recent example: A teammate asks XYZ. I politely pushback because a) I believe XYZ is not needed b) teammate and I trust each other. Feelings are not hurt. It’s transparent, easy, no drama.

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