What is Trust

I see so many social media posts talking about trust in teams… but most are missing one critical part.
From experts like Brene Brown and her "BRAVING acronym", to John Maxwell talking about competence, connection, and character…. there are many lists produced that show how you can create trust, which is great. Up to a point.

You see, these behaviours are what are defined as TRUSTWORTHINESS.  The behaviours that pretty much make you a good human being

…. but as Stephen MR Covey points out, in his book The Speed of Trust, you can have TRUSTWORTHY people, who don’t actually TRUST each other.

So even when experts talk about this, the context isn't quite right. So, if you want to create trust as a practical leadership tool for enabling high-performance… how do you do that?

You see, TRUST is to give someone the responsibility to be accountable for their own actions. You give them trust. And if they are trustworthy, yes, it certainly makes it easier, but you need to go the next step to actually GIVE them that responsibility. 

If you are delegating a task, or reliant on someone for something, you give trust by starting with clarity. 

Be clear on the task or objective and why it is important. Give them a clear understanding.  And be clear on the parameters, such as the deadline and the resources that they can use. 

AND, if that person is clear on what is needed, you know they have the skills to do what you’re asking of them, and they are trustworthy - well, why WOULDN’T you give them your trust?!