Yesterday at lunch my colleague made a statement I hear rather frequently.
“It takes years to build trust but it can be destroyed in a second.”
I don’t agree.
A person with high integrity, a leader with outstanding character, an organization that has committed the time to build a trust bank account will not have trust destroyed as quickly as those who haven’t.
Yes, trust building takes time. In the long run it’s worth it. Your next misstep (and we all make them) may not be the one that brings down the house.
Why not start today?
What do you think? Leave your comments below or send them along.
Email: barbara@trustacrossamerica.com
Barbara Brooks Kimmel is the Executive Director of Trust Across America-Trust Around the World whose mission is to help organizations build trust. She is also the editor of the award winning TRUST INC. book series. In 2012 Barbara was named “One of 25 Women Changing the World” by Good Business International.
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Barbara,
You are absolutely right. I think the “one second” misperception is based on this truth: that there are times when bad actors reveal their true nature. In other words, they were fooling those around them, but a crisis hit in which they showed their fundamental bad character through their reaction, or hidden truth about them was unearthed. Perhaps we can think of these people/organizations as a sociopath in sheep’s clothing.
For the rest of us – those who have built trust over years and who actually aren’t bad actors in sheep’s clothing, yes, we all have bad moments – sometimes, terrible moments. This is all the more likely when we’re discussing a company with thousands of employees acting over decades: of course bad things are going to happen!
In “A World Gone Social,” we compare United and Southwest Airlines in very similar incidents within a very short period of time. United took it on the chin, whereas Southwest recovered gracefully. Trust earned (or not) over time made all the difference.
Absolutely Ted, in fact the Southwest Airlines example came up just yesterday. My flying experience with United has recently been “better” than in the past, although now the company has decided to cut their Frequent Flyer benefits. What’s the expression about giving with one hand and taking with the other.
The (major) airline industry, similar to big pharma is a case study in trust. There will be one more big merger and then only the very wealthy will have the luxury of flying.
The “bank account” analogy is accurate. If one has many deposits in one’s trust bank account, then, unless the trust violation is highly egregious, it is likely you will be given the benefit of the doubt and another chance. However, your trust violation has caused a serious hit to your trust account.
We cannot expect leaders to be perfect. None are. What matters is that when a mistake is made, they admit it, apologize, and even ask for forgiveness. That approach will actually build trust.
Bob-you nailed it. Everyone will make mistakes and nobody expects perfection. It’s all a matter of how much trust has been built and and how quickly the apology comes.
Thank you for stopping by to comment.
Barbara