Why We All Need Trust & How We Can Build It.

Ever asked someone you know to recommend a good car mechanic? Or maybe a great place to get pizza?

We do this because we trust our friends to give us good advice. We know they wouldn't want us to have a bad experience.

Trust is super important in everything we do, especially at work. When you work in a job where you help people, like fixing cars or serving food, trust is even more important. People need to feel like they can rely on you to do a good job and treat them fairly, and -more importantly- they need to feel the ability to obtain a constant high level of service out of you every time.

What is Trust?

Trust means believing someone will do what they say they will do. It's like knowing your friend will actually meet you for coffee after work, not just say they will and then not show up!

There are different kinds of trust:

Brain Trust:

This is when you trust someone because they're good at what they do. Like, you trust your business development manager to know a lot about market dynamics in your sector, and you can therefore trust the advice he or she provides to you.

Gut Trust:

This is when you just have a feeling about someone. You meet them and think, "Yeah, I can trust this person.", as they genuinely exhibit all the traits that you know to be of a trustworthy individual.

Heart Trust:

This is when you trust someone because you feel like they care about you and want what's best for you. Like, you trust your best friend to keep your secrets, or you trust your co-worker who shared a lot with you professionally over the years.

When you work with people, you need all three kinds of trust. You need to be good at your job, be a good person, and show people you care.

Why Trust Matters at Work

When people trust you at work, good things happen:

Happy Customers:

If people trust you, they'll want to keep coming back to you! Think about your favorite pizza place. You go back because you trust them to make delicious pizza every time.

Good Reputation:

If everyone knows you're trustworthy, more people will want to work with you. It's like being known as the most reliable friend in your group – everyone wants to hang out with you!

Happy Team:

When everyone trusts each other at work, it's more fun. You can work together better and get more done. It's like playing a game with your friends – you have more fun when everyone plays fair.

Less Drama:

When people trust each other, there are fewer arguments and problems. Everyone knows they can rely on each other to do the right thing.

How to Build Trust at Work

Here are 6 proven ways to show people you're trustworthy. They work every time, whether you represent yourself as a sole service provider (An Accountant, Lawyer, etc.) or represent a company that provides a portfolio of services:

Really Listen:

When someone is talking to you, pay attention to what they're saying. Ask questions to make sure you understand.

Talk Clearly:

Use words that everyone can understand. Don't use big words or try to sound fancy.

Be Honest:

Always tell the truth, even if it's hard. People will respect you more for it.

Keep Your Promises:

If you say you're going to do something, do it! This shows people they can count on you.

Show You Care:

Let people know you care about them and their problems. Be kind and understanding.

Be Respectful:

Treat everyone with kindness and respect, even if you don't agree with them.

Takeaway Action:

Over the years, this has been my personal cheat-sheet of how to -naturally- build trust in every situation or responsibility I undertook throughout my professional path:

• Know Yourself: What are you good at? What do you need to work on? Focus on those two, you'll always be achieving higher levels in life.
• Be Respectful: Treat everyone nicely. Every human being deserves respect
• Understand Feelings: Learn about your own feelings and how to understand other people's feelings. In business terms, this is known as "Emotional Intelligence".
• Listen Carefully: Pay attention when people talk. If you lost focus, do not be shy to confess that and ask them to repeat.
• Talk Simply: Use words everyone understands. Not everyone has experienced what you have, so make it simple for people to get your message
• Be Honest: Always tell the truth. Even if that is the harder choice, people, especially in business, will appreciate that you value their time and effort, thus trusting you more along the way.
• Keep Promises: Do what you say you'll do. This cannot be explained with further simplicity.
• Show You Care: Be kind and helpful. Ensure this is in balance with your time and abilities as well.

Handy Online Tools:

LinkedIn:

Who doesn't know LinkedIn. It is THE website that helps you connect with people you work with and learn new things. used efficiently, it can also be a great tool for discovering clients and forming opportunities of professional collaboration with clients or industry leaders.

Crystal Knows:

This is a website (and it has an interesting Chrome extension), that I'm seriously looking into, which helps you gain instant insights about how the people you communicate with are likely to behave, communicate, negotiate, etc.

Grammarly:

This website has quickly become the Go To place to help you write without mistakes.

Zoom or Microsoft Teams:

They are the top market player today, for online face-to-face online communication. As you know, and whether we like it or not, this form of communication is now a MUST MASTER skill and it is here to stay.

Slack/Teams/Monday and others:

Those are some of many online collaboration tools that provide unique ways of online collaboration, which come in handy for both general team communication and also focused project management purposes.

By initiating an in-depth look at the concept of "Trust", and using the Action Steps and Tools recommended in this article, you'll have restored your position on a successful path towards building trust with the people you work with, those you serve externally and -eventually- help your company become the service provider of choice for its clients.

Remember,

Trust is like a superpower – it makes everything better!