Have you ever stepped out onto a glass walkway over a deep canyon?
Trust is a binary thing. You either do or do not trust, no half measures. To trust is to have confidence in something or someone with no hesitation. It’s like stepping out on a glass walkway over a very deep canyon. Would you do it? You probably would if it was part of a tourist attraction, even though you don't personally know the people who installed it, you know enough that as a tourist attraction it will have been thoroughly tested before you step out.
So, you can put your trust in confidently walking out. Trust prevents hesitation.
In the business context Trust is an essential ingredient of running a successful, engaging and growing business. Without Trust there is uncertainty, the need to double or triple check something before committing, possibly never fully committing, following with hesitancy and uncertainty means that less than 100% of capability is realised and momentum is slow.
The happiness factor in the workplace is seriously hampered without trust. Think of the last time you found yourself not trusting. How happy were you at that time? Now, speaking for myself, if I find myself feeling that I am not able to trust then I am miserable, feeling less than my best self. Why is that? Because if I can’t trust then I can’t engage, I feel I have to check things for myself, to consider other options and whilst all this is going on I am losing time and feeling frustrated.
A few years ago Stephen Covey Junior wrote a book you may have read, The speed of Trust. At its heart the book describes the value of building a culture in which Trust is at its heart. To have trust is to make fast frictionless progression.
To have around us colleagues that we Trust 100% to do the right thing, give 100% of themselves to doing a great job and to think of what is best for others as much as they consider for themselves. The organisations that work in this way are very successful and have happy engaged people working together.
I have been thinking a lot about the importance of trust. It’s not optional, it’s a binary thing for me and it starts with me. With trust we have the final important ingredient to be successful in achieving our strategy to empower people, creating the moments that matter, living a high performance culture, investing and innovating and enabling profitable growth.
As we head towards the end of the week keep safe and well.