The Trust Equation

What is ‘The Trust Equation’?

The Trust Equation was first introduced in 2000 by David Maister in his book, ‘The Trusted Advisor’. I was first introduced to this concept by Greig Walker whilst working with him at Urenco.

In this short article, I am going to explain the trust equation and how it is applicable to you as an individual and your organisation.

Trust is the foundation of strong relationships. Without trust, any relationship is weak. But trust has to be earned. It is not given. Trust is a feeling – and the trust equation is the best explanation that I have seen, which explains this feeling. If you understand this equation, you can use it to help drive your decision-making.

The three numerators are credibility, reliability and intimacy. We want to increase these to increase trust. The denominator is self-orientation, which we want to reduce to increase trust. Let me explain each one in detail.

The Trust Formula

Credibility

Credibility is simply ‘do they know what they are talking about?’ We trust people like doctors and lawyers because they are trained professionals. They’ve had to pass exams and been tested to make sure that they are credible and that they have a level of knowledge which allows them to advise people. We trust them as experts in their field.

Reliability

Trust equals credibility plus reliability. Reliability is about delivering on their promises. Does this person deliver on their commitments or do they consistently fail in this regard? Repeated failures to do what you say you are going to do undermine trust. If someone is consistently late to meetings where a time has been clearly agreed, it erodes trust. When they say they’ll meet you at a time and a place there is a part of you that knows it is unlikely to happen – this is evidence of a reduced level of trust in the individual. If they can’t get to a meeting on time, what else are they going to fail to do?

Sometimes people are their own worst enemies when it comes to this. They commit to help or support others but because they’re too busy or disorganised, they fail to deliver. They don’t want to fail and they have the best intentions but the effect of their actions have an impact on trust people place in them.

Intimacy

Intimacy is about whether you can trust someone to keep something confidential. Do you trust them with information or have they let you down in this regard? Confidentiality is enshrined in relationships that doctors and lawyers have with their patients and clients. This is done to protect the individual but also to maintain trust in the profession. If someone breaks this trust, then there will be legal consequences – everyone is clear on this from the start.

Self-Orientation

Self-Orientation is the only denominator in the equation. It asks – where does this persons focus lie? Do they have my best interests at heart or are they doing this for themselves? Are they really helping me or are they simply doing this to get something out of it? If people sense that you don’t care about them or their needs, they will not trust you.

This goes for organisations as well. Does my organisation train me and help me to improve so that I can advance my career? Or does it just expect me to deliver for which I get a salary in return?

These factors are worth considering from a personal point of view as well as from the perspective of your organisation. People don’t often trust institutions or organisations – they trust the people in those organisations. Companies are often described as credible and reliable – the first two elements of the trust equation. The last two are specific to individuals.

People have to demonstrate intimacy and self-orientation. It is why doctors have a simple criteria for making decisions – ‘put the patient’s welfare first’. This builds trust in their profession and their institutions. It is vital to the long-term success of the organisation and is part of a virtuous circle. Many companies say that they ‘put the customer first’ but if they don’t back it up with their actions – it undermines trust in their organisation.

Trust in business requires good scores across the board. Leadership requires us to live these values by example. If we do, they percolate through the organisation resulting in a ‘trusted company or brand’. This builds long-term success.

If you’re interested in developing your own leadership skills or you’re interested in developing the leadership skills of your people, please feel free to get in touch – roderic.yapp@leadershipforces.com

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