Think of a context where you felt trust was low. This could be in a conversation, a meeting, working on a project, etc. What did you notice? How did you feel?
Now think of a time where you felt trust was high. What did you notice? How did you feel? How do you think others felt?
These are questions we have asked hundreds of leaders from around the world. Here are some of their most common responses:
Low trust contexts
- Difficult to make progress
- High anxiety
- People hoard information
- Cutthroat and competitive
- People don’t share ideas and feedback
- People act defensive
- Morale is low
- Things are stuck
- People feel frustrated
- Lack of transparency
- People feel small
- Feeling of elephants in the room
- People feel isolated
- Feeling of walking on eggshells
- Lack of connection
- Things move slowly, yet with little patience
- People are disengaged
- It’s exhausting
High trust contexts
It’s highly productive
People feel safe
Innovation happens
Collaboration feels easy
Team members generously support one another
People are brave
It’s fun!
People feel like they matter and their contributions matter
Respect is high
Everyone is included
People feel acknowledged
People listen and feel listened to
People feel cared for
People feel like they belong
There is camaraderie
Rapid decision-making
People feel valued
It’s energizing
Trust is transformative.
Trust is the glue, lubricant, and accelerant to all our interactions.
We all want to be in high trust contexts. These settings enable us to show up as our best selves and to do our best work. We need leaders like you to help create these contexts.
Trust is a noun and a verb.
If we want to enjoy trust, the noun, and the qualities of high-trust contexts, we need to practice trust, the verb.
How are you practicing trust this week? What Trust-Centered™ skills are you focusing on?
P.S. If you’re looking to fast-track your Trust-Centered™ Leadership skills development, join us for a FREE virtual workshop or dive deeper into a topic with one of our online Superclasses.
