Man : Hope (Trust)

Trust

A widely-known psychological study, conducted by Walter Mischel in the 1960s, exploring delayed gratification in four-year olds. In the study, children were seated in front of a marshmallow and told the children that they could eat the marshmallow right then, but if they waited for the researcher to return from a brief errand, they would receive a second marshmallow.

Some of the kids ate the marshmallow within seconds, but others waited for to up to 20 minutes for the researcher to return.

14 years later, the researchers found that the children who had delayed gratification were more trustworthy, more dependable, more self-reliant and more confident than the children who had not controlled their impulses.

Trust is largely an 
i.    emotional act, 
ii.   based on an anticipation of reliance. 
iii. It is fragile, and like an egg shell, one slip can shatter it. 
iv. It pervades nearly every aspect of our daily lives. 
v.  A fundamentally important in the healthy functioning of all of our relationships with others. It is even tied to our wealth.

Characteristic

A situation characterized by the following aspects:

·  One party (trustor) is willing to rely on the actions of another party (trustee); the situation is directed to the future.

·     The trustor (voluntarily or forcedly) abandons control over the actions performed by the trustee.

·   The trustor is uncertain about the outcome of the other's actions; he can only develop and evaluate expectations.

·     The uncertainty involves the risk of failure or harm to the trustor if the trustee will not behave as desired.

Conceptually, trust is also 
       i. attributable to relationships 
    ii. within and between social groups (families, friends, communities, organizations, companies, nations. 
     iii. inter-group and intra-group interactions in terms of trust.

The degree to which one party trusts another is a measure of belief  in the honesty , fairness, or benevolence  of another party. The term "confidence" is more appropriate for a belief in the competence c of the other party. Failure in trust may be forgiven  more easily if it is interpreted as a failure of competence rather than a lack of benevolence or honesty. In economics  trust is often conceptualized as reliability in transactions. In all cases trust is a heuristic in rational reasoning.

Psychology

Trust can be attributed to relationships between people. It can be demonstrated that humans have a natural disposition to trust and to judge trustworthiness that can be traced to the neurobiological structure and activity of a human brain, and can be altered e.g. by the application of oxytocin .

Oxytocin, a hormone and neurotransmitter, increases our propensity to trust others in the absence of threatening signals. We are indeed wired to trust each other, but, our life experiences may "retune" the oxytocin to a different "set point", and thus to different levels of trust throughout the course of life. 
When we are brought up in a safe, nurturing and caring environment, our brains release more oxytocin when someone trusts us – resulting in our reciprocating that trust. By contrast, early experiences of stress, uncertainty and isolation interfere with the development of a trusting disposition and decrease oxytocin levels.

Trust is believing that the person who is trusted will do what is expected. It starts at the family and grows to others. 
According to Erik Erikson development of basic trust is the first state psychological development  occurring, or failing, during the first two years of life. 
i.  Success results in feelings of security, trust, and optimism, while 
ii. failure leads towards an orientation of insecurity and mistrust.

A person's dispositional tendency to trust others can be considered a personality trait  and as such is one of the strongest predictors of human well-being skilled at fostering good relationships.

Trust is integral to social influence : it is easier to influence or persuade someone who is trusting. The notion of trust is increasingly adopted to predict acceptance of behaviors by others, institutions   (e.g.  goverment agencies) and objects such as machines . However, once again perception of honesty, competence and value similarity (slightly similar to benevolence) are essential. 

TRUST Myths and Realities 

Myths about Trust	Reality about Trust
Trust is soft.	Trust is hard, real, and quantifiable. It measurably affects both speed and cost.
Trust is low.	Nothing is as fast as the speed of trust.
Trust is built solely on integrity.	Trust is a function of both character (which includes integrity) and competence.
You either have trust or you don’t.	Trust can be both created and destroyed.
Once lost, trust cannot be restored.	Through difficult, in most cases lost trust can be restored.
You can’t teach trust.	Trust can be effectively taught and learned, and it can become a leverageable, strategic advantage.
Trusting people is too risky.	Not trusting people is a greater risk.
Trust is established one person at a time.	Establishing trust with the one establishes trust with the many.

 

Waves of Trust

The 5 Waves of Trust

     Stephen M. R. Covey builds a model of trust that seeks to explain how it works across all levels, from micro to macro.  Like concentric ripples emanating from a stone thrown into water, this model is comprised of five waves flowing from the inside-out.

The First Wave: Self-Trust

At the very heart of the model is the first wave: self-trust.  The idea here is simple: you cannot inspire trust in others until you inspire trust in yourself.  Because of this, Covey gives the issue of self-trust primary importance in his model.

For Covey, the key principle underlying self-trust is credibility.  Credibility has four main aspects to it:

i)        integrity;

is built upon four key virtues: 
   i) honesty;  Honesty is when your words match your thoughts 
  ii) congruence;  Congruence is when your actions match your values
 iii) humility;  Humility is when your intentions go beyond yourself 
 iv) courage.  courage is when your conviction to act on your intentions 

ii)      intent

 Intent is all about genuine caring, acting in the best interest of others, and seeking mutual benefit.  It is the rough equivalent of the fourth habit identified by his father in The 7 Habits: “think win-win”.  Invoking what he calls the “trustee standard”, Covey plainly explains the importance of intent as follows: “When we believe people truly are acting in our best interest, we tend to trust them. When we believe they are not acting in our best interest, we do not trust them. It’s that simple.”

iii)     capabilities

is all about TASKS: talents, attitudes, skills, knowledge, and style.  The more aligned your TASKS are with your role, the greater your credibility in that role is.  And the more you work on that alignment (either by improving your TASKS or adjusting your role), the greater your credibility in that role will become.

iv)     results. 

You may have all the integrity in the world, you may have the best of intentions, and you may even be highly capable, but if you can’t deliver results, credibility and self-trust just won’t be there. 

The Second Wave: Relationship Trust

The key principle underlying relationship trust is consistent behavior.  As Covey explains it, there are 13 behaviors that, when consistently applied, enhance relationship trust.  
These 13 behaviors are:

i) talking straight; ii) showing respect; iii) being transparent;  iv)righting wrongs;

v) showing loyalty;  vi) delivering results;  vii) improving continuously; viii) facing reality; ix) clarifying expectations; x) practicing accountability; xi) listening first      xii) keeping commitments; and  xiii) extending trust.

   Each of these behaviors is a natural corollary to at least one of the four main elements of credibility and self-trust.  For example, if you have a high level of integrity you will be more inclined to talk straight, show loyalty, and keep commitments.  If you have good intent, you will more easily demonstrate respect, listen first, and extend trust.  If you have strong capabilities – especially if you have a positive attitude – you will naturally focus more on getting better at what you do, confronting reality, and practicing accountability.  And finally, if you are able to deliver the results required for self-trust, you will also be able to deliver the results required for relationship trust, for the two are one-in-the-same.

The Third Wave: Organizational Trust

    With sufficient relationship trust, on the third wave leadership begins to transcend the interpersonal domain and move into the realm of organizational trust.  Here the operating principle is alignment is about matching the actions and values of an organization.  

    Since an organization is an agglomeration of individuals, building organizational trust not only involves aligning the actions and values of the organization itself, but also the actions and values of the individuals within it.  The end result is a more harmonious organization with common values and a shared vision – an organization in which low trust taxes such as politics, disengagement, and turnover are reduced, and high trust dividends like loyalty, teamwork, and creativity accrue as a matter of course.

The Fourth Wave: Market Trust

The key principle underlying this wave is reputation.  Just as a leader who achieves a high level of self-trust naturally earns the trust of the individuals that surround her (and therefore enjoys a strong personal reputation), so too does an organization that achieves organizational trust naturally earn the trust of the players in the market that surround it (and therefore enjoys a strong organizational reputation).  As with each of the waves, low trust taxes fall, high trust dividends rise.

The Fifth Wave: Societal Trust

The key principle underlying this wave is contribution.  Societal trust is the wave of social responsibility.  Just as individual humility stems from selfless personal intentions for the benefit of others, so too does organizational humility stem from selfless organizational intentions for the benefit of others.  And just as individual humility increases trust in the individual by all those around him, so too does organizational humility increase trust in the organization by all those around it.  The end result is an organization that is cherished not only by its leadership; not only by its employees; not only by its direct stakeholders; but also by its indirect stakeholders: society at large.  And that is a remarkable achievement of trust.

The Trust "Issues"?

Possible signs of when a trust issue is a trust "issue": 

•   A total lack of intimacy or friendship due to mistrust

•   Mistrust interfering with primary relationship

•   Several intensely dramatic and stormy relationships in a row or at once

•   Racing thoughts of suspicion or anxiety about friends and family

•   Terror during physical intimacy

•   Belief that others are deceptive and malevolent, without real evidence

If mistrust seems to play a dominate role in your life on regular basis, it’s possible you are reacting to some past disappointments or betrayals. Mistrust, then, is in one sense a valid response.

One of the best ways to find out is to talk about it. If a person is willing to listen and talk about your relationship, it’s much more likely you’ll be able to come to trust that person. A therapist can help practice talking about your feelings and fears.

Medically Disorders

Under the medical model, trust issues can be linked with depression, adjustment disorders, anxiety, and, most significantly, with schizophrenia and post traumatic stress. People diagnosed with schizophrenia and related conditions may experience paranoia – the unfounded but rigid belief that others are trying to harm them – delusions – false beliefs, often with themes of mistrust – or hallucinations – usually, imagined voices that may be critical or malevolent. This serious condition is today thought best treated with a combination of medications and intensive therapy. It can be mimicked by the use of certain drugs, such as methamphetamine, Lsd, and even marijuana in high doses.

 Post traumatic stress, in which a person is subject to severe danger or perceived danger, can lead a previously healthy person to experience tremendous difficulty with trust. People may experience and re-experience the trauma in their minds, along with the associated anxiety, and often go to great lengths to create a feeling of safety, sometimes isolating themselves from others or becoming overly dependent.

 Why Trust Is Critical?

How important is building a trusting work environment?

Trust is the necessary precursor for:

• feeling able to rely upon a person,
• cooperating with and experiencing teamwork with a group,
• taking thoughtful risks, and
• Experiencing believable communication.

The best way to maintain a trusting work environment is to keep from breaking trust in the first place. The integrity, the truthfulness and transparency of the communication with is also a critical factor. The presence of a strong, unifying mission and vision can also promote a trusting environment.

Providing information about the rationale, background, and thought processes behind decisions is another important aspect of maintaining trust. People are more apt to trust their competence, contribution, and direction when part of a successful project or organization.

What Injures the Trust Relationship?

Human in which trust is a priority, things happen daily that can injure trust. A communication is misunderstood; an order is misdirected and no one questions an obvious mistake.

In the first aspect of the construct, capacity for trust, even when human and organizations do their best; many people are unwilling to trust because of their life experiences. In past experiences, people are taught to mistrust as they are repeatedly misinformed and misled.

Five Ways to Destroy Trust

For trust to exist, a certain amount of transparency must pervade the intentions, direction, actions,  communication, feedback, and problem solving. Consequently, these are ways in which people destroy trust.

• Tell lies of commission:

Failing to tell the truth, often with the intention to deceive or confuse. This will powerfully impacts a person whole when the lie is perceived; relationships are destroyed by lies of commission. A lie is a lie is a lie. If it's not the whole truth, even if it requires preparation and wordsmithing, you need to remember the details to ensure you don't change your story in the retelling, you are probably telling a lie. Or, at the very least, part of your story is a lie. People who are untrustworthy derail their careers

• Tell lies by omission:

A lie of omission is a deliberate attempt to deceive another person by omitting portions of the truth. Lies of omission are particularly deceitful as they give people false impressions and attempt to influence behavior by omitting important details. Once again, the more powerful the perpetrator of the lie in the organization, the more significantly trust is affected. But, an individual can derail their life and career by using this deception ploy, when caught.

• Fail to walk the talk:

No matter what the work program is, the cultural expectation,management style, or change initiative, you will destroy trust if you fail to demonstrate the quality or behavioral expectation, if you fail to walk the talk . Words are easy; it is the behavior that demonstrates your expectations in action that helps employees trust you.

You can’t have a willing participative human and trust toward you and the organization, unless you demonstrate these expectations in your everyday actions. Customer service is a joke if a complaining customer is labeled “wrong” or a jerk.”

• Fail to do what you say you are going to do: 

Human expect that every statement, goal and / or projection that you make will come true. Sales will be up 10%. No layoffs are anticipated. We will hire ten new employees this quarter. Working the reception desk alone is a temporary fix until we fill the open position with a second receptionist. My assignment will be complete by the end of the first quarter.

If you make a statement, commitment, or projection, human expect what you said to happen. You destroy trust if the end result never occurs. You can avoid destroying trust by communicating honestly and frequently about:

--how you set the initial goal,

--what is interfering with the accomplishment of the initial goal,

--how and why your projection has changed,

--what employees can expect going forward, and

--how you will avoid similar miscalls in the future.

Honest communication is the key to building trust.

• Make random, haphazard, unexpected changes for no apparent reason:

Keeping man off balance may sound like an effective approach to creating agility. But, random change produces the opposite effect. People get used to their comfortable way of doing things. They get used to the mood characteristically exhibits. They expect no consequences when deadlines or chores not done or are missed – because there have never been any in the past.

Any change must be communicated with the rationale behind the change made clear. A starting date for implementation and participation from those that are affected by the change will keep you from destroying trust. A sincere and thoughtful demonstration that the change is well-thought-out and not arbitrary will help employees trust you. An explanation for a change of mood or a different approach goes a long way to prevent the destruction of trust.

Acts of Trusting

Trust needs to be earned through diligence, fidelity and applied effort. If lack of trust is an issue which causes you concern, what can you do to manage perceptions of trust? Here are a few quick tips:

1.  Show that your interests are the same

    Before we trust somebody, we typically ask ourselves: How likely is this person to serve my interests? Whenever interests are well-aligned, trust comes more easily. We tend to question the competence of our surgeon, not his motives. This is because we realize that he also benefits when we survive the operation. 
     High-trust humans try to accomplish their goals by serving the interests of all stakeholders, not by serving some while giving short shrift to, or manipulating, others. Leaders must clarify and align stakeholder interests, and prove they will promote those interests in a fair manner.

2.   Demonstrate concern for others

People trust those who care about the welfare of others and distrust those who seem concerned only about themselves. To earn trust, human must demonstrate to others that they will do the right thing for them even if it puts themselves at risk. One chief executive chose to tell a vice president of marketing that he was being laid off just when the company marketing plan needed to be developed. The CEO knew it might be a setback for the company's planning, but he told the vice president right away rather than wait until after the plan was finished.

The manner in which this CEO executed a difficult decision became a well-known symbol of the importance of benevolence in the company.

3.  Deliver on your promises

We are only trustworthy if we can deliver on our commitments. Good intentions, benevolence and even ethical conduct don't warrant trust if the person is incompetent. If human want to earn trust, they must prove they can reliably deliver on their commitments.

This is sometimes the downfall of visionary leaders. I am reminded of the leader of a consulting firm who was enamored of his brilliant vision but failed to realize that vision without execution often looks like delusion. People liked him, but they didn't trust him because he didn't execute on his lofty ideas. High-trust leaders make sure that there is a reasonable probability and capability to deliver before they make promises.

4.  Be consistent and honest

High-trust leaders tend to feature consistency and integrity in their behavior. High-trust managers always try to honor their word and, if they fail to do so, they apologize and make sure it does not become a habit. When Warren Buffett was embarrassed by revelations that his right-hand man, David Sokol, had an undisclosed conflict of interest ($10 million in stock he held personally) in a major deal, he did not hide behind lawyers or say "no comment." He admitted the mistake and put measures in place to ensure that it would not happen again. Most people know that perfection can only be an aspiration. Trust comes from always striving always to honor one's word.

5.  Communicate frequently, clearly and openly

Because trust is largely about relationships, communication is critical. Communication is also the vehicle through which the other elements of trustworthiness are delivered. The ability to align interests, demonstrate benevolence, accurately communicate one's capabilities and practice what you preach all requires effective communication skills.

Spirals of distrust often begin with miscommunication, leading to perceived betrayal, causing further impoverishment of communication, and ending in a state of chronic distrust. Clear and transparent communication encourages the same from others and leads to confidence in a relationship.

6.   Monitor your use of "I" in your communications.

Do an audit of your emails, for example, and see how frequently you use "I" as opposed to "we". Peter Drucker said: "The leaders who work most effectively, it seems to me, never say 'I.' And that's not because they have trained themselves not to say 'I.' They don't think 'I.' They think 'we‘; they think 'team.' They understand their job to be to make the team function. They accept responsibility and don't sidestep it, but ‘we‘gets the credit. This is what creates trust, what enables you to get the task done."

7.   Keep talking about what matters.

60% of respondents in the Edelman Barometer of Trust said they need to hear a company message three to five times before they believe it. Lewis Carol knew this when he said: "What I tell you three times are true."

8.   Your reputation is like a brand.

Manage your brand, what you want to be known for, as diligently as Nike or Volvo manage theirs. Brand is trust.

9.   Be known as a truth teller in your organization.

A leader I coached recently mentioned to me that, before an impending merger, he was troubled by employees asking for information that he couldn't disclose at that time. What do you do in such a situation to preserve the trust you have with your people, while honoring the confidentiality of sensitive information? 
  An honest compromise would be to share what you can (there is usually something we can share) and to add: "This is all I can share right now." This preserves trust, as your people know that you did not lie, and, they understand that even though you have more information, strategic imperatives prevent you from sharing it just then.

9.   Earn the trust of your customers  (every people you engaged)

By insisting that everyone observes the "five pillars of trust":

1. Keep your promises.
2. Be willing to help.
3. Treat customers as individuals.
4. Make it easy for customers to do business with you.
5. Ensure that all physical aspects of your product or service give a favorable impression. (Source: Winning Customers, by 1000 Ventures.)

10.As much as this is hard to do, don't try to lead through email.

Get out from beneath your desk periodically, and have "face time" with people. The more time you spend with people, the more the level of trust increases. If you are leading virtual teams, pick up the phone more often.

11.       Do you manage your moods

Do people experience you as agreeable one day and confrontational the next. Predictability engenders trust.

    12.     Are the corporate stories you tell consistent or do they vary depending on who you are speaking to?

It's so easy to get caught up in the moment and exaggerate claims. Even though your intentions may be harmless, these little slips chip away at trust, because people don't judge us by our intentions.

    13.     Do you make people feel safe?

Fear and trust are mutually exclusive. Most leaders would be shocked to find out that, in many cases, people fear them. As a leader, you have a lot of power: the power to hire, fire, promote and demote; the power to assign or withdraw choice assignments and perks; and the power to give or withhold recognition.

    14.     Build a Trust Relationship Over Time

Trust is built and maintained by many small actions over time. Marsha Sinetar, the author, said, "Trust is not a matter of technique, but of character; we are trusted because of our way of being, not because of our polished exteriors or our expertly crafted communications."

So fundamentally, trust, is the cornerstone, the foundation, for everything human and organization to be now and for everything you'd like it to become in the future. Lay this groundwork well.

Hundreds of small actions every day build a culture of trust. Let's look at how to define trust before we explore how to build trust or how to rebuilding trust  when trust is damaged.

     15.     Define Trust Within a Culture of Trust

You will know when you are in an environment of trust and you know when you are not. But, only by defining trust in a way that is tangible can you describe what human experience when they speak of trust.

Thinking about trust as made up of the interaction and existence of these makes trust easier to understand. In a culture of trust humans are likely to exhibit a positive relationship and to hold positive expectations about their humans and their actions

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Trust is power. 

It's the power to inspire and influence. 

It's the glue that bonds us to each other, that strengthens relationships and turns threads of connections into steel cables. 

Like four-year olds trusting that there will be a second marshmallow, can your people trust that your word is your bond?

Leadership is difficult work. As George Washington said, "I can promise nothing but purity of intentions, and, in carrying these into effect, fidelity and diligence."

Restoring trust will require more than ethics training. It will require leaders and organizations that earn trust by striving to manifest trustworthiness in word and deed.

Excerpt and extracts taken with thanks from:

Wikipedia

Bruna Martinuzzi.
Susan M. Heathfield

http://www.coveylink.com/about-coveylink/how-we-define-trust.php