Jeff Faulkner

Trust Me
January 28, 2008

I have a unique opportunity to work with families in business and frequently with the senior management/leadership teams who run those businesses. What I have learned is that relationships cannot function without trust:

• Family partners cannot run a business together without trust. 
• Management teams cannot function as teams without a high level of trust. 

Trust is emotional glue that holds people together. In fact, trust is fundamental to building a great organization because organizations are made up of people who have to build relationships with one another. If trust is so important, and it is, then it would be helpful to understand how to improve it. In the next three posts I’m going to attempt to put some meat on the bones of trust to help you grow into deeper levels of trust with those around you, whether they be family members, employees, or colleagues. 

Be willing to risk – People who say “trust me” really have no idea what they are asking you to do. They are asking you to place your confidence in them because they are dependable and will not betray you or let you down. They are asking you to take a big risk. The risk is that you are willing to suffer a loss if they don’t come through. I contend that if people really understood this, they wouldn’t throw around the phrase “trust me” so tritely. Michael Jordan said that hundreds of times his team has trusted him with the game winning shot and he missed. His team took the risk and was willing to lose the game if he didn’t come through. 

Observe carefully – When you have a new-hire, or bring your son/daughter into the business, you place a certain level of trust in that person, but you hold back until they have proven that they can be trusted with what you expect from them. If you’re not taking risks and paying attention, the depth of your trust in others will never grow.

Take bigger risks – When your employees have proven themselves trustworthy, you usually promote them and they eventually end up in the management ranks. Trust has been earned and an occasional slip doesn’t damage the relationship. You give each other the benefit of the doubt. 

Get in sync – When you don’t really understand each others values, intentions, and decision making, trust will be limited. When these things are understood, trust is not so much as even questioned. Obviously when this level of trust exists in an organization, it becomes unstoppable. Check my next two blogs to learn how to get to this level of trust. 

Posted by Jeff Faulkner on January 28, 2008 | Comments (0)