2012 – The Year of Ultimate Success

March 12, 2012

Tip of the week – Welcome back to our conversation on TRUST.  Last week we started to look at where in your life you created disempowering conversations around TRUST.  We defined TRUST via Charles Feltman as: “Trust: Choosing to risk making something you value vulnerable to another person’s actions.”

One of the things that makes the concept of trust so dicey is that it is completely dependent upon a personal assessment.  A key to being truly, ultimately successful in life is the ability trust yourself and others to support you in causing that success.  What does that look like?  First of all, it takes understanding that trust is like a blanket paint brush.  If you paint everything with one brush, including yourself, you will usually be left with unworkability.  Charles Feltman defines “four distinct assessments” regarding how we as human beings determine if someone is trustworthy.  This includes our assessment of ourselves.  These assessments are sincerity, reliability, competence, and care.  Unfortunately, instead of keeping these elements distinct, we often lump them all together and everyone (including you) ends up being painted as untrustworthy.

Let me give you an example.  You work for someone that is very sincere, completely competent and clearly cares.  However, they have never been on time for a meeting the entire time you have known them.  No matter how much they care – they are not viewed as trustworthy.  Would you trust them to drop off a package to UPS by 4 pm?  Likely not.  By taking a look at the various elements you can actually define which area of trust is the actual issue and deal with it. 

Which of these most impacts what you are up to?  Explore it this week.  Start a list of those that you consider untrustworthy and see which of the elements is actually being impacted in your listening.  Get that particular element complete.  Let me know if you want coaching on how to complete that on our next call.