Trust is won in a slow accretion of behaviors and values over time
but can be lost in an instant. Once lost, trust is extremely difficult
to regain. This holds true for any kind of organization.
There are myriad defini-ons of trust, depending on discipline and
circumstance. A defini-on of trust that works for the
employer/employee rela-onship will be presented, covering integrity,
the belief that a person or organiza-on is fair and just; dependability, the
belief that a person or organiza-on will do what they say; and confidence, the belief that a person or organiza-on has the ability to
do what they say they will do. Addi-onally, the personality
characteris-cs of leaders who can build trust will be discussed.
Generally, this presentation will focus on the world of work and on
the organizations that employ people. The presentation will
examine the conditions and culture within an organization that can
bring about a trusting environment, those actions and values that
will destroy trust, and what an organization must do to begin to
regain trust once lost.
There are many negative consequences to being in a low-trust
environment and those consequences will be spelled out with
supporting data. Alternatively, the benefits of working in a hightrust
environment will also be examined.
Finally, methods that can be used to measure trust and to build a
trust index, that can be tracked over time, in an organization will
be presented and which are best for differing situations.