Trust is an essential component of us being able to work together, serve others and buy from others.
Trust in leaders is essential for an enterprise to be able to deliver its promise.
Today, trust is greatly diminished at all levels, in politics, government, and commerce.
It feels like a race to the bottom, grabbing as much cash and ‘power’ on the way as possible, at the expense of trust.
We must be active in reversing that.
We can start in our own backyard.
Sometimes, if not most times, trust is broken unintentionally.
To become broken, trust must have been earned in the first place. That’s a positive start.
Trust was earned by the following being delivered Consistently:
- Courage – to live the agreed values; to speak up when values are broken; to own up; to apologise; to be humble yet certain, and assertive when appropriate.
- Care – to always be respectful even when dealing with the unacceptable; to honour the higher good for all; to forgive whilst also requiring rectification; to put others first, to show authentic compassion and empathy for others.
- Competence – to ensure your competence in your role, to continue your personal and professional development, to competently honour your agreements.
When trust has been broken it is because one or some of the above have been ignored, overlooked, avoided or done incompetently, sufficiently enough to cause others to mistrust one’s ability or intent.
To overcome broken trust will require the following actions:
- acknowledgement of the act/s that caused trust to be broken
- a sincere apology with a promise not to re-offend
- rectification if possible
- a request to be informed if the breach re-occurs (some are created by unintended habits)
- consistent adherence to the four C’s of trust mentioned in the preceding paragraphs
- patience in expecting trust to be given again
It is then up to others to have the courage and compassion to forgive and allow all to have a fresh start.
If you had broken trust with others, how would you like to be treated and how would you go about re-earning trust?
