How to build trust – and why we should do so

Think about the start of a new relationship: how do we behave? Some people trust others until something happens that persuades them not to do so. Others distrust others until they see some evidence that they can trust them.

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Then there are also relatively small groups of people who almost never trust anyone or, on the contrary, trust everybody far too much.

Expectations matter

If you have very high expectations, you can easily be disappointed. If, however, your expectations are low, you may not be too bothered even when they are not met. If you want to start building trust, you should bear in mind that there are different attitudes to trusting others.

What is trust and what does it bring us?

To a large extent, trust is about reciprocity and predictability. You should fulfil your part of a deal; otherwise you will start a chain reaction of distrust, warns the business2community.com website.

Trust is also about speed. Today we can define the speed of trust as the speed at which co-workers voluntarily communicate information that is important for others to know. The quick transmission of important and useful information can only occur where trust is present.

Trust is essential for open communication

Trust then enables colleagues to listen to one another’s views and discuss tough and sensitive issues without hesitating for too long. When people feel that they can air conflicting opinions, it leads to better results.

However, trust can flourish only where roles and responsibilities are clearly set and where conflicts are solved according to established rules. Trust can spread through an organisation only if people are held accountable for their actions – whether successful or unsuccessful.

-jk-

Article source business2community.com - open community for business professionals
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