How Do I Trust Thee?

Trust is the foundation of any and all human relationships. It is a feeling of confidence and security; an assurance that when you expose your vulnerabilities to someone, they will not take advantage of you.

Trust. A simple five letter word – yet so complex and human.

There are few things in life that are harder to earn and easier to lose than trust.

Connected – but alone

From the moment we wake up, to the moment we turn in for the evening, we are surrounded by technology; from smartphones to smart appliances and sleep tracking devices – from laptops to social networks and ecommerce sites, we are generating countless bytes of data – leaving behind a digital footprint that is far beyond our imagination.

We entrust these companies to safeguard our data and have our best interests in mind. While technology has helped to bridge the physical distance that separates us, and improve our lives in many ways – one can’t help but wonder, has our trust in the digital world betrayed us? Have we placed too much trust in technology, and too little in humanity? Have we grown so dependent – that we are losing our basic human instincts and ability to think?

If we spend so much time looking down and searching for things that might not be there, we stop paying attention to who (or what) is right in front of us.

In tech we trust – or not

While we were trying to navigate rural Pennsylvania this past weekend, we got lost for a moment due to poor network reception. We have come to rely on our digital apps so much so that we took it for granted, prompting my always thoughtful 9-year old to comment: “Mommy, we can’t always rely on technology.”

We had paper maps – before we have Waze and Google Maps.

We had bookstores and libraries – before we have online shopping.

We had phonebooks and diaries – before we have smartphones and laptops.

We had phone calls and coffee dates – before we have social media and chat apps.

We had paper money and a physical wallet – before we have digital wallet and PFM tools.

When our physical encounters and serendipity moments are being replaced by digital apps – when our chance to meet and re-connect are being replaced by casual likes and retweets in the digital world – how will we expect to grow, as a society? How can we build trust in times of uncertainty in an increasingly divided world with just 1’s and 0’s?

Can we truly trust what we see and experience?

And when trust is eroded, what are we left with?

Our increasing intolerance and growing lack of empathy towards different voices might serve as a stark warning of what is yet to come.

From strategy to purpose

The same holds true for businesses.

To transform in the new era, executives need to trust that a different model of working and collaboration would yield positive results for the organization. Innovation teams need to trust that they are empowered to test and learn – and that they will not be penalized if the experiments fail to bear fruit. Leaders need to trust that the teams will take charge and put their ideas forward.

Without trust, we descend into bitter office politics. We let our emotions get the best of us – instead of focusing on what is best for our company, our employees, our partners, and our customers.

With the rise of shareholder activism and consumers increasingly voting with their wallets, how do we earn our customers’ trust, not just by our words, but by our actions? How well we treat our employees and how we deliver value to our customers certainly matter. Recently, nearly 200 CEOs wrote in a joint statement, committing to “delivering value to customers, investing in employees in ways that go beyond financial compensation to include training and education to ensure their skills are kept up to date, and embracing diversity and inclusion, dignity and respect.”

While this is laudable, it remains to be seen how big corporates can talk the talk, and walk the walk. But acknowledging the challenge we face and the need to change is a good step in the right direction towards rebuilding trust with our society.

Don’t lose hope

Those are the exact words that the young daughter of my colleague uttered. “Don’t lose hope, daddy,” she said.

If we are willing to dial back on our dependency on technology, perhaps we can regain the trust and civility that was lost. If we look people in the eye, we might see that we have more in common that we realize.

After all, we are in this world – writing the next chapter of our story – together. How we shape the narrative of our future depends on how human we choose to be.