Is Trust Earned or Given?

Credibility and trust are the most important aspects of your leadership. Most people would agree with that. The bigger question is: Is trust earned or given?

Let me tell you a story. I have a friend who met this dog at an animal shelter. The dog was extremely afraid of any human contact and cowered in the corner, not even eating the food it was offered.  My friend would show up every day and just sit in the same space as the dog – not too close, but always there.

Days went by until finally the dog began to approach – closer and closer.  More days, and even weeks continued until the dog began to accept my friend, even allowing himself to be touched and petted.  (You can see where this is going.). After several weeks of consistently showing up, treating the dog well, and being kind, the dog grew to trust enough to go home with my friend and found a new home  The two became great companions and were inseparable until the dog passed about 14 years later.

So what does this mean?  The man earned the dog’s trust … right?  Maybe.  But, humans are not dogs.

Remember the original question – is trust earned or given?  I would say trust is given, not earned.

We cannot force someone to trust us no matter how hard we try.

Building trust is like building a bank account.  You must have money in your account before you can make a withdrawal. You must build trust before you can ask someone to give you their trust.  Just like you have to “ask” the ATM for your money, we are asking people to give us their trust.

By consistently acting with integrity, showing you care, communicating clearly, offering  transparency in decisions, and doing what you say, leaders demonstrate they are trustworthy. They make deposits into the trust bank.  As long as deposits are made continually and consistently over time, we will build enough trust to have it available for someone to give us when we need to withdraw from the trust bank for a difficult situation or mistake we’ve made.

Trust is the foundation of ALL leadership. Don’t take it for granted.  Never stop leading with integrity – never stop building trust.