1. #FuturePMO
What’s Trust? Why do we trust?
And why should we care about it?
Paulo Finuras, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Organizational Behaviour at ISG
ISG - Lisbon, Business & Economics School
1. Why does Trust exist?
2. What are the origins of Trust and why are we so prone to trust?
3. Can we build and measure Trust?
4. How can we promote high-performance teams?
5. What is the link between Trust and Evolution?
6. What does research tell us about all of this?
6 Key-ideas

2. Trust
✓ European Languages
✓ Asian Languages
✓ Middle-Eastern Languages
✓ African Languages
✓ Austronesian Languages
✓ Other Languages
You will find the word Trust in, at least, 96 different
languages which corresponds roughly to 99% of
the human population!
We can say trust in
Confiança
Stoler
信頼
AmanahАмана
‫آمنه‬
‫אמון‬
Εμπιστοσύνη
विश्वास
avoir confiance en
Treysta
‫اعتماد‬
Веруј
Доверять
Tin
Güven
faalagolago
avere fiducia in
Confianza
信任
Vertrou
vertrauen
‫فيرتاون‬
Доверие
Confiança
Tillid
Pagtitiwala
LuottaaVertrouwen
Kepercayaan
Zaufania
Confiar
‫الاستئماني‬
신뢰
Faalagolago
Förtroende
Falala ki he
Důvěryhodnosti
‫ٹرسٹ‬
Trust is a human universal

3. #FuturePMO
2 320 000 000
results (<0,5 - 0,33 sec)
When you google the word
TRUST in UK And what about
definitions of
Trust?....
I found 56 different definitions and interpretations!
In my book The Trust Dilemma (2013,
Portuguese Edition) I presented an extensive
review of the key ideas, interpretations and
definitions proposed for Trust by research’s
worldwide since 1950 until then.
Therefore, the concept of
Trust comes in many
different shapes and just
like with the concept of
Culture, Trust consists of
multiple dimensions.
Besides this,
Trust is the N.º 1 concern for teams,
organizations, institutions, politics, financial
systems, cybersecurity, couples and families.
Source:
Psycinfo 2016
(www.psycinfo.o
rg)
Before 1970 1970 - 1979 1980 - 1989 1990 - 1999 2000 - 2015
0
2
0
0
4
0
0
60
0
80
0
1
0
0
0
1
2
0
0
• Progress of studies about Trust (1970-2015)
Trust has been
growing as a subject
of interest &
scientific production
in the last 55 years

4. #FuturePMO Conclusion
There are different types of Trust and we can
find all kind of studies about it which hide
different definitions.
Maybe that's why one of the most respectful
researchers about this subject asked once: Can we trust Trust Studies?
42%43%
69%
Distrust BrandsDistrust advertising Trust advertising less than they used to
2017
2017
% Trust in Government
2016
2017
Almost 70% of British say they
distrust advertising and 40% don't
just lack faith in advertising but also
distrust the brands themselves.

5. #FuturePMO
There's an idea that Trust is declining in almost all social dimensions of our lives and societies.
In some cases maybe YES!..
We just don’t know, for sure!
But is that really true? but in others maybe NO.
➢ 13% fewer sick days;
➢ 29% more satisfaction with their lives;
➢ 40% less burnout;
➢ 50% higher productivity;
➢ 74% less stress;
➢ 76% more engagement. * Source: P. Zak, 2016 (data collected in February 2016 from a nationally representative
sample of 1,095 working adults in the U.S and Zak, P. (2010). Oxytocin Increases
Generosity in Humans. Plo One 2, 11, 1128
Compared with people at low-trust organizations, people at high-trust organizations report: (6)
What we do know now, according to the research made* is that in some organizations
there's a high trust level and in others there's not!

6. #FuturePMO The 6 traits of high-performance project teams
2) Interdependence
Team members realize their tasks within the defined timeframe and answer expectations!
3) Structure and clarity
High-performance teams have clear goals and procedures and have well-defined functions within the group!
4) Meaning
The work has personal meaning for each member!
5) Impact
The team believes that its work has a purpose with a positive impact for a greater good
6) Psychological security
Everyone feels safe with taking risks, expressing themselves & with asking questions without fearing any kind of judgment.
A teams’ culture where leaders can create safe zones in such a way that team members can let their "guard down" and trust each other.
That is psychological security.
1) Mutual trust
Team members believe in each other and the predictability of their behavior (intentions, capabilities, integrity,
consistency and commitment)!
Sources:
https://science.sciencemag.org/content/330/6004/686.full#otherarticles
Science: Evidence for a Collective Intelligence Factor in theDOI: 10.1126/science.1193147 Science 330, 686 (2010); Anita Williams Woolley, et al. Performance of Human Groups E; Science Journal:
Evidence for a Collective Intelligence Factor in the Performance of Human Groups. Anita Williams Woolley; Christopher F. Chabris; Alex Pentland; Nada Hashmi; Thomas W. Malone
Julia Rozovsky, Google’s People Analytics Manager

7. #FuturePMO
P1. Speak honestly in a clear and appropriate way!
8 Practices that can help you build and rebuild trust within your team!
How to build trust in project teams?
P2. Face reality and problems when they arise!
P3. Assume your errors and take responsibility for mistakes!
P4. Correct or repair errors or damage caused by you or your team!
P5. Clarify and align intentions and expectations (avoid the expectation gap)!
P6. Keep your word: fulfill promises and honor commitments!
P7. Be consistent with your words and your actions!
P8. Show yourself “vulnerable”: be accountable!

8. #FuturePMO
To adapt in the new evolutionary environment is to be able to attract and manage
diversity and to build similarity within the team members.
TVM
Evolution, by means of social selection!
This, we can call it whatever we want.
I prefer to call it…
Finally: about Trust and the future of organizations
• Why Diversity? Because it generates new ideas, innovation and creativity, and avoid the “focus herd tunneling”.
• Why Similarity? Because it generates attraction, identity and emotional comfort.
Both are the answer to the new complex problems that we all face as a social species
All together they nurture trust and trust facilitates cooperation.

9. #FuturePMO
• Paulo Finuras, Ph.D.
• Associate Professor of Organizational Behavior at ISG
• Lisbon Business & Economics School
• Associate Partner Hofstede Insights Group (Finland)
• Fellow Researcher CIPES/ULHT