The Trust Factor

Successful relationships and results are built on trust.

Lack of trust is the underlying issue, in unresolved conflicts. Either a team member doesn’t trust that it is safe, for instance to voice their opinion, or a manager doesn’t trust a team member with a decision, for example by being upset about mistakes or not delegating.

Conflict, in varying degrees, exists in every organization. When conflict is constructive, it releases tension, finds solutions, builds relationships and creates new ways to do business. It becomes destructive when people resist it by holding back, resisting difficult conversations, or acting out unprofessionally.

Trust is built by:

1. Listening with genuine openness and curiosity
2. Being consistent in how you relate to people and events
3. Using words, tone and body language congruently
4. Always intending to create a win/win

Self Trust is the Foudation of Relationship Trust

People with a high degree of self-trust are confident, competent, consistent and caring.

Confident, they sit and stand tall, walk with presence, speak with authority and are comfortable letting others have the spotlight. They are open to new ideas that may cause them to rethink their values and perspective.

Competent, they know their job well or proactively seek training and guidance. They are genuinely open to learning new ways of doing things. They are teachable no matter how much experience they have.

Consistent, what they think and feel, they say and do. In other words, they walk their talk. They make and keep commitments. People can rely on them because they have an impeccable history of being present and following through.

Caring, they genuinely have the best interests and wellbeing of others in mind and heart and demonstrate it by their actions. Motivation to help arises from an inner self-love that grows as they provide service to others.

How the Trust Factor Facilitates Obtaining Buy-in for New Programs

If your company owner or boss came to you and said, " I am so excited to introduce you to this new program we are launching today...it is innovative...the first ever in our industry...easy to apply and will help you and the company succeed. How would you repond?

If the announcement is delivered with lack of congruence between the presenter's enthusiasm, words, body language and tone of voice, then they will probably hear signs of mistrust: rustling movements of people squirming in their seats as well as whispers and side conversations that may sound like, "Yeah Right! Here comes the sales pitch for swamp-land in Florida" or "Oh no! Who will be loosing their job because of this?" or some other variation on this theme.

How do you sustain trust and obtain buy-in for your plan?

1. Be honest and direct. In the first minute of your comments, announce that changes are coming that you support without going into a lot of detail upfront. Do not use a cheerleading style, hoping your excitement will get folks to buy-in. They will think you are trying to manipulate them.

2. Acknowledge your audience's opposing viewpoints. Validate their concerns by showing how their reasoning is logical. Name what you guess they may be thinking. Add some humor, if it is your style. For instance, "I remember a former boss who once opened a meeting this way -- the next day s/he was fired." Watch for signs of agreement, like nodding heads, laughter and smiles. People relax when you meet them where they are.

3. Outline your program identifying all the risks as well as benefits backing everything up with facts.

4. Point out specific facts and issues you and your audience agree on. "Change is uncertain." "Only working together, can we make it work."

5. Call them to action by outlining the implementation process, what they will expect to see in terms of communications, how their input will be received and acted upon, and start and completion times.

6. Assume everyone is on board. Expect everyone to support the program. Keep people informed as to progress. Schedule regular meetings to check in on progress and trouble-shoot challenges.

The trust factor is key. When you are congruent each step of the way, the team will buy-in and be forgiving of any bumps that arise in the implementation stages. Your results are your feedback as to how well you built trust.