{"id":5121,"date":"2021-04-23T08:28:16","date_gmt":"2021-04-23T12:28:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.trustacrossamerica.com\/blog\/?p=5121"},"modified":"2021-04-23T08:28:16","modified_gmt":"2021-04-23T12:28:16","slug":"trust-whats-trust-got-to-do-with-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.trustacrossamerica.com\/blog\/?p=5121","title":{"rendered":"Trust? What\u2019s Trust Got to Do With it?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>What makes trust such a complicated subject? <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Could it be the simple fact that most conversations that claim to focus on trust are really about something else?<\/span><\/p>\n

A few weeks ago I listened to three podcasts with “trust” in the title. Two of the guests (not the hosts) were members of our Trust Alliance<\/a>, while the third was the host, an individual with expertise in both ethics and trust. What could be better than three subject matter expert podcasts in one week about trust?<\/span><\/p>\n

Throughout these discussions I found myself questioning whether the word “trust” itself was being misused. I was also confused by how the words trust, trusting, trusted and trustworthy were being used interchangeably when they have very different meanings.\u00a0<\/span>Bottom line, the podcasts may have had trust in their titles, but the conversations were not about trust, at least not in the way I have come to understand it.<\/span><\/p>\n

One focused primarily on customer loyalty (some mistakenly call that brand trust), the second was a reputation conversation (trust and reputation are not the same) and the third was about building ethical products that consumers can rely upon. Again, not trust so much as reliability.\u00a0<\/span>Yes, trust has certainly become\u00a0 a \u201chot\u201d topic, but using the word as a \u201csexy\u201d placeholder\u00a0<\/span>is not only misleading but also adds to the confusion of what trust is and what it is not.<\/span><\/p>\n

Before we go further let\u2019s look a bit closer at trust and it\u2019s relationship to trustworthiness:<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Trust:<\/b>\u00a0I explain it in this five minute video<\/a> with Shona Elliott as an OUTCOME of principled behavior. It\u2019s ALWAYS interpersonal. I have trust in you because you act in a competent, respectful, transparent and accountable manner. You will find me trustworthy for the same reasons. I don’t have trust in Costco, nor do I have trust in AI. I might be a loyal Costco shopper and I might rely on AI to be ethical, but I cannot trust something that is not a “someone.”<\/span><\/p>\n

In the words of Charles H. Green, a member of both our Trust Alliance<\/a> and Trust Council \u201cthe right way to think about trust is that it is all driven and experienced at the personal level: the role of the organization is to help those personal experiences become trust-positive.\u201d<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

Organizations don\u2019t build trust, they can only facilitate or hinder interpersonal trust. It\u2019s up to the people who work for them to build the trust, and to be effective, leadership must carry the flag. A trust-based organization is one in which people behave in a trusting and trustworthy manner towards each other, and towards all stakeholders. At the organizational level if trust is not a function of leadership, any trust-building initiatives will be ineffective. Trust is built over time and in incremental steps through principled behavior that benefits all stakeholders, both internal and external. Organizational trust-building is most effective when it begins with its most valuable stakeholders, the employees.<\/span><\/p>\n

Trustworthiness: <\/b>Also an outcome. A person can be called trustworthy if they display principled behavior as described above. Trustworthiness can also apply to companies and brands based on attributes, not behaviors.<\/span><\/p>\n