The trust triangle
Trust is something to be built and grown in an intentional, conscious way, not as a hoped-for aspect of professional relationships. And in a world where there is so much mistrust, being a trusted leader or firm is a shining advantage when it comes to winning business, leading people and building capital value.
So, if you are going to actively choose trust as a central plank in your sales or leadership, how will you do this? The key is to actively design high trust relationships, and then ensure you follow through. And here are the design guidelines.
There have been a number of definitions of trust in business. One was in a book written in 2001 by my cousin David Maister and others, and resulted in the Trust Equation. Our definition of trust builds on this and others and, we believe, is a practical framework which provides the basis for relationships that emphasise the win-win approach to doing business.
It is the Trust Triangle and says that trust between people has three dimensions: clarity, character and capability. You can use this framework as the basis of your own approach to key relationships or initiatives and, even more usefully, as an agenda for discussion and agreement with those with whom you want to build trust. to be fair and loyal and to be ambitious about what can be achieved together.
What is critical is to actively consider which behaviors are right for this relationship and identify what this means in practice in the context of what you are seeking to accomplish.
Capability
The danger is that these become warm words which get forgotten. I call the start of a relationship the wedding. Everyone loves each other and declares how wonderful it will all be. In business this is typically the time when the deal is struck, the transformation programme is agreed, the new leader is appointed, the board meets for the first time.
Clarity relationship, and it is the " why ".
It makes it easier to respond to
Have you ever completed a project, knowing you have done a great job, but the key decision-maker is unhappy? The reason is usually misalignment of expectations. This is lack of clarity. It results in mistrust; " next time I will make sure they do it right ".
So, clarity right at the start is critical as the basis of trust. It means those involved are completely clear and aligned on what they are trying to achieve together and why. This is what I call the Strategic Narrative of the challenges and opportunities because those involved are pointing in the same direction.
Character
What is characteristic of this relationship? It is defined by the behaviors of those involved. There are some core behaviors which build trust, such as honest and open communication, consistency and integrity. There are others that we identify which are courage to always do the right thing for the relationship,
But it is in the marriage where the real work takes place. The professional equivalent of the baby crying at 3am one year on. Things are challenging, there are complications, something has happened which puts stress on the relationship.
That is when trust is really built and grown. It demonstrates the capability of this relationship to really create value together. That is how we define this dimension: the capability created by the combination of the parties involved and how the relationship is consistently governed to make sure this potential is achieved.
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