Trust is the most fundamental building block of any relationship whether in business, politics, marriage, family or friendships. In the real world, trust signifies different things to different people but it frequently boils down to one point: trust is essential to your success.

1. The Power of Trust to Succeed
Trust is Essential to your Success

2. The Power of Trust Page 2
Contents
Trust is Essential to Your Success............................................................................................................ 3
Delayed Gratification.............................................................................................................................. 3
Trust is pervasive ................................................................................................................................ 4
Trust is chemistry................................................................................................................................ 4
What you can do..................................................................................................................................... 5
And what are these behaviours? ........................................................................................................ 6
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3. The Power of Trust Page 3
Trust is Essential to Your Success
Trust is the most fundamental building block of any relationship whether in business,
politics, marriage, family or friendships. In the real world, trust signifies different
things to different people but it frequently boils down to one point: trust is
essential to your success.
Once lost, rebuilding trust is one of the most difficult things to accomplish for the
reason that the thought of the betrayal can forever haunt the aggrieved. Rebuilding
trust is definitely tough, but it’s not something that can be ignored.
Delayed Gratification
There's a well-known psychological study, conducted by Walter Mischel in the 1960s,
which explored delayed gratification in four-year-olds. Individually, children were
seated in front of a marshmallow and the researcher told them that they could eat the
marshmallow right then, but if they waited for the researcher to return from a brief
errand, they would receive a second marshmallow.
Some kids ate the marshmallow within
seconds, but others waited up to 20 minutes
for the researcher to return. 14 years later, the
researchers found out that the children who
had delayed gratification were more
trustworthy, more dependable, more self-
reliant and more confident than the children
who had not controlled their impulses.
Trust is largely an emotional act, based on a
prediction of reliance. It is fragile, and as an
egg shell, one slip can shatter it. Gorging yourself on dessert or cake is an emotional
act. Trust is also an emotional act. Which emotion do
you choose to win the battle inside yourself?

4. The Power of Trust Page 4
Trust is pervasive
Trust pervades every aspect of our everyday lives closely. It is fundamentally
essential in the healthy functioning of all of our relationships with others. It is even
tied to our wealth: in a Scientific American article, Dr. Paul J Zak,
a neuroeconomist at Claremont Graduate University, found out that trust is between
the strongest known predictors of a country's wealth: nations with low levels of trust
are likely to be poor. In line with Dr. Zak, societies with low levels of trust are poor,
for the reason that the inhabitants undertake too few of the long-term investments
that originate jobs and raise incomes. Such investments depend on people trusting
others to fulfil their contractual duties.
Trust is chemistry
In searching to comprehend what was physically happening in the human brain that
instilled trust, he found out that oxytocin, a hormone and neurotransmitter,
increases our propensity to trust others in the absence of threatening signals. We are
indeed wired to trust each other, but, as Dr. Zak points out, our life experiences may
"retune" the oxytocin to a different "set point", and thus to different levels of trust all
through the course of life. When we are brought up in a secure, nurturing and caring
background, our brains release more oxytocin when somebody trusts us resulting in
our reciprocating that trust. By contrast, early experiences of pressure, uncertainty
and isolation interfere with the development of a trusting disposition and reduce
oxytocin levels.
In today's untrusting climate, it is not
surprising that study after study shows a
decline in the trust that individuals have in
business and political leaders, and in
institutions. The Edelman Trust
Barometer for 2009 found out that nearly two
out of every three adults surveyed in 20
countries trust corporations less now than they
did a year ago. And a 2004 study by Towers
Perrin, shows that only 44% of junior workers
(those gaining less than $50,000 per year)
trust their employers to say them the truth. This is
an alarming statistic, specifically given how much time, effort and concern are
expended in crafting leadership communications to workers.
Levels of trust in all parts of society are
declining. Is it because we are so
caught up in ourselves that we forget
about others?

5. The Power of Trust Page 5
Even although we are faced with a disaster in trust, and have ample examples of
leaders who have eroded their employees', customers' and shareholders' trust, I
believe that the majority of leaders walk the path of trustworthiness. If truth be told,
it might be harrowing for many leaders if they receive feedback that others do not
find them trustworthy. But being trustworthy, in someone's eyes, consists of their
own perceptions, and can be strongly influenced by the fracture of trust in the world
around them. Indeed, people do not automatically trust leaders nowadays. Trust
requires to be earned by means of diligence, fidelity and applied effort.
If lack of trust is an issue which causes you
concern, what can you do to deal with
perceptions of trust? Here are some quick
suggestions:
What you can do
Monitor your usage of "I" in your communications. Do an audit of your emails, for
example, and see how normally you use "I" in preference to "we". Peter Drucker said:
"The leaders who work most successfully, it gives the impression to me, never
mention 'I.' And that's not for the reason that they have educated themselves not to
mention 'I.' They do not think 'I.' They think 'we‘; they think 'team.' They comprehend
their job to be to come to the team function. They accept obligation and do not
sidestep it, but 'we‘ gets the credit. This is what builds trust, what permits you to get
the activity done."
Organizations commonly spend considerable energy and effort in team building
initiatives; this includes workshops, retreats, and adventure type experiences. While
all of these have their place, if organizations need to increase contribution and
enhance teamwork, they need to get started with trust. It's the benchmark of healthy
team relationships; it's a very basic process. It's all about individual pattern. Do
individuals behave in a trustworthy manner or not? There is only a pass or fail here.

6. The Power of Trust Page 6
And what are these behaviours?
We all instinctively know them, but from time to time we require to call to mind
ourselves of what they are. Ask yourself:
 Do I share information that I know is useful to others, or do I withhold it?
 Do I treat everyone with kindness and compassion?
 Do I try to do well in my dealings with others?
 Do I follow through on my commitments, though it is at considerable personal
expense?
 Do I seize opportunities to encourage others?
 Am I just as glad about others' achievements as I am of my own?
 Do I consistently strive to deliver superb work?
 Is "candid" a quality people would readily characteristic to me?
Trust is power. It's the power to inspire and
influence. It's the glue that bonds us to each
other; that strengthens relationships and
turns threads of connections into steel
cables. Like four-year-olds trusting that
there will be a second marshmallow, can
your people trust that your word is your
bond?
Leadership is complicated work. As George Washington told,
"I can promise nothing but purity of intentions, and, in carrying these into the end
result, fidelity and diligence."
Seeking success? One thing is for certain,
without trust, you will not succeed!

7. The Power of Trust Page 7
If you haven’t gone through the questions yet, go back and do it now. Remember that
applying best practices with discipline and consistency, even if the actual steps seem
trite or obvious, is what leads to results.
Thanks so much for reading this LeaderShift! Action Guide – if you have any feedback or
comments you can reach me at johnk@LeadershipAdvantEdge.com
Don’t settle,
John

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