The trust equation

How important is trust?

Hopefully this is a rhetorical question for everyone reading this as it is essential in every sort of relationship. Business partnerships simply cannot survive unless each partner can trust that the other has their back and will do the right thing. In dealings between businesses, contracts can and should be put in place to ensure that there is clarity between each party on what can be expected of the other, but the success or otherwise of the arrangement will still fundamentally depend upon whether the two parties can trust one another. Similarly, within organisations, Employment Contracts serve as the definitive agreement between the company and the employee, but things work best when management and staff trust each other as this builds the company culture.

Even in difficult situations, the more that trust can be displayed, the more progress can be made in the relationship. I remember well back in the 1980’s when Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev began the process of thawing the Cold War that had existed for decades, Reagan famously quoted what is actually a rhyming Russian proverb: “Trust, but verify” phrase when discussing nuclear disarmament. Given the level of mistrust that had existed ever since the end of the second World War, this was a very practical way of beginning to rebuild it.

Interestingly we all trust in different ways. At one end of the spectrum are those that will readily assume that anyone new they meet should be trusted unless proven otherwise. These people are typically warmer, friendlier and easy to be with but at the same time can be naïve and easily conned.

At the other end of the spectrum are those that believe trust needs to be earned and so everyone is not to be trusted until they have proven that they can be. These people cannot easily be taken advantage of and can see through deception more easily but can come across as colder, suspicious and cynical. Most of us lie somewhere in between and neither approach is right or wrong.

But what actually is trust? In their highly successful book “The Trusted Advisor”, Maister, Green and Galford suggest that Trust can be expressed by the following equation.

Trust = ( Credibility + Reliability + Intimacy ) / Self-orientation

Credibility means having a track record of success or reputation in the relevant field

Reliability is about being dependable and consistent based on previous experiences

Intimacy means the ability to tackle difficult, sensitive or personal matters

Self-orientation is the extent to which someone appears to be out for themselves as opposed to you

You can see therefore how being seen as credible, reliable and emotionally stable all contribute to be being seen as trustworthy but equally how trust can be seriously undermined by perceived motives that indicate the other person is simply trying to achieve their own agenda (self-orientation). This equation can be particularly useful in situations where trust once existed but now seems to be lost. Each of the four elements of the Trust Equation can be analysed to determine what specifically has changed in the relationship to affect trust. Knowing this means that the potential for regaining trust (for it is possible to do this – we all make mistakes or actions can easily be misinterpreted) increases since the area(s) that have changed can be more specifically addressed.

Ian Ash ACC, AInstIB

Managing Director OrgMent Talent Solutions - www.omtalent.com.au