Principles of Trust

(By Rick Lambert)

Trust inspires confidence

Trust, and the confidence it inspires is the one of the main problem-solving attributes available to the leader.  Trust is the fuel that empowers leadership.  The weaker the trust, the slower leadership can move and implement growth. 

Trust purifies motives

On the other hand, the lack of trust in leadership only serves to burn up confidence and render trust inoperative.  Trust is the purifying factor of effective leadership and strong organizations.

Trust is earned

Individuals will tend to guard themselves against others they don’t trust.  You trust someone when you feel that they are supportive of you – they keep their word, they care about you, understand you, and want to help you.  It takes time to build trust.  People do not trust each other until they have had time to get to know each other’s motives, values, character, knowledge, and skills.

Never forget that battles are first won in the hearts of men, and then they are won on the battlefield and in the workplace.  “If the worker thinks that the leadership from the top is not all it should be, the discipline of the workers on the shop floor is often far from good – indeed, it is sometimes thoroughly bad”  (General Montgomery).

Trust builds teamwork

Trust pulls coalitions together and unites all the participants into a common cause or course of action.  Trust is a combination of others knowing who you are, what you know, and what you plan to do.

“Trust is the highest form of human motivation.  It brings out the very best in people.  But it takes time and patience, and it doesn’t preclude the necessity to train and develop people so that their competency can rise to the level of that trust.”  (Steven Covey - The seven habits of highly effective people).