How we change what others think, feel, believe and do

Where We Trust

Explanations > Trust > Where We Trust

Frequent contact | Common goals | Single source | So what?

Beyond the religious maxim ‘In God do I trust’, perhaps the questions should be ‘Where must we trust?’ Some situation force us to either trust or leave. ‘If you cant’ stand the heat, get out of the kitchen’ comes to mind. The heat in groups is about collaborating such that an acceptable system of value exchange is maintained, where even if people don’t care too much for one another, they can still get on without terminal conflict.

Frequent contact

Where people are forced together, where they have some structural ties of location in common, they have to get on in some form. Their enforced close relationship means that they must discover how to establish and use trust.

Families have specific ties. Blood is thicker than water, and all that. You can get rid of friends, but you cannot easily change your relationship with your brother or cousin. Families can be acrimonious, but on the whole they tend to be harmonious, especially when challenged from outside.

People who live in close proximity, whether they are prisoners, neighbors or workmates may have more choice than families. Nevertheless, they must, if they are to co-exist, develop agreement and trust around how they share their time and space.

Common goals

Where people have common goals and objectives, where they have interdependencies and where they can obtain synergies from collaboration, development of a trusting relationship is clearly beneficial to all parties.

Beyond collaborative work groups, other groups such as professional organizations seek to create trust within their membership and may act as trust brokers with other organizations.

Single source

Where we need information and there is only one place to get it, then we are obliged to trust that source. Organizations that set themselves up as sources of knowledge include universities, consultancies and professional organizations. Their brand name aims to persuade us that they can be trusted.

So what?

So develop trust with people by staying in touch, calling up at unexpected time just to be friendly as well as scheduling regular contact. Also seek to demonstrate that you are aiming at the same stars as them. Also be aware of the brand effect and use it as appropriate.