How to Build Trust
Let’s look at tactical steps and tools to build trust.
We'll cover the following...
Trust-building tool belt
In the previous section, we covered why trust is so important. Now, it's time to work on building that trust. However, trust is a "soft" topic; it can be hard to nail down tactical steps a single person can take to build it.
So, let's try to tackle that challenge by turning this soft skill into a hard skill.
Remember, there is no shortcut to building trust. To help us gain focus for our trust-building work, let's focus on three key attributes that create trust: authenticity, empathy, and transparent objectivity.
Trust Trifecta
Key Attribute | Definition |
Authenticity | The quality of being genuine and true to oneself and others. |
Transparent Objectivity | Transparency is the degree to which individuals in a relationship are open and honest with each other. Objectivity is striving to look at the world around us as an observer, removing immediate judgment Therefore, transparent objectivity is openly sharing our observations of the world around us without involving personal judgment. |
Empathy | The ability to understand and share the feelings of another person. It involves being able to identify and respond to the emotional needs of others, and to put oneself in someone else's shoes to understand their perspective. |
The order of these attributes matters much less than all three of them being present to some degree.
Below, you'll notice that specific tools have been allocated under each of these core components. However, as you continue to read about each of these topics, you'll notice that they all support one another. This is merely one way to dissect these topics.
Being authentic
The more authentic you are, the greater your capacity to build relationships. People can tell if you're not being authentic. Let's review some tools that will help you become authentic in your relationships.
Authenticity tool: partner with people, not titles
This first tool is more of a mindset shift than a skill. This shift will help you be more authentic in your approach to building trust.
Focus on partnering with people rather than just partnering with them based on their titles.
What does this mean? Here's an example:
Don't say: "I want to build trust with the engineering manager of data platforms."
Instead, say: "I want to build trust with Stacey, the engineering manager of data platforms."
This is a simple change but can have profound results when you see your partners as fellow ...