Who trusts ya, baby
David Maister wrote a book years ago, targeted at consultants wishing to forge stronger relationships with clients, The Trusted Advisor. The issue of trust swirls around the workplace constantly. How do people work with each other across regions, cultures and silos if they’re unsure of each others capabilities, efforts, worthiness; how do they trust each other?
As he noted, trust is like ballroom dancing if it is going to work–one leads and one follows. There must be one person trusting, and the other person must be trusted or you can’t dance two steps–it’s not often a relationship of equals.
Some of Maister’s “trust” checklist are applicable within the organisation–think about these when relating how you work with your superior, or conversely, how you manage your team:
The more you are trusted, the more others will:
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Where are you on this list when it comes to your interactions at work? How are you viewed, understood, respected, listened to.
As is always said, trust must be gained, not simply given, and above are a few thoughts on where you might be in that trust scale.
