🧮️ 1+1 = 2, credibility + intimacy = trust?
Quantifying gut instinct with The Trust Equation + how to stop trusting the wrong people.
Trust seems to be something pricey for companies to earn from their employees. In a survival mode where it’s “every man for himself”, it’s getting harder to rely on others too–who knows if sharing your little work concerns could get you a call from HR now?
Most of us probably put trust in others based on instinct. With the added pressure of today’s unpredictable work settings, The Trust Equation could help ease your anxiety and rebuild your relationships with your employer, colleagues, and those around you.
Equation of trustworthiness
Developed by Charles H. Green, The Trust Equation measures how much trust we are willing to invest in a person. Based on looking at professional services and how people relate to one another, Green formulated the following equation:
Trust (or Trustworthiness) = (Credibility + Reliability + Intimacy)/Self-Orientation
To start measuring each component above, you may determine your points based on the following questions:
Credibility (words)
Is the person professionally credible; do they live up to their CV?
Do the person’s words fit their actions?
Reliability (actions)
Are they dependable?
Will they do what they promise?
Intimacy (feelings)
Do you feel safe or secure around the person?
Do you trust that person with confidential or personal information?
Self-orientation
Is a person self-centered, putting themselves before the needs of the vision and team?
Are they self-obsessed (always framing an issue from their own perspective) or do they look at a situation more broadly?
Find examples of how to use the equation in real life in writer Simon Ash’s full Medium article here.
When the gut feeling is wrong
Kathy Caprino, Senior Contributor at Forbes, has taken matters to her own hands as she revealed the 5 core reasons we put trust in the wrong people. It could come from our good (re: naive) intentions, or could just be the other person’s problem:
We desperately want to believe them even though we know what they’re offering is too good to be true. It’s when you ignore all the red flags and focus too much on the seemingly ‘green’ flags.
They validate what we need to believe about ourselves. Low self-trust and self-esteem could really be at the root of this problem. The presence of ‘power gaps’ also plays a huge role in this one.
They appear as if they’re “winners”—they’re charismatic, persuasive and impressive. Sometimes, we come across people who make their lives seem so lavish that without realizing, we feel good that they choose us to be on their team.
They make us feel as if somebody finally recognizes our talents. Untrustworthy people will often hit you with praises and puff you up, only to get what they want and drop you shortly after.
We hand over our power and skip the due diligence we need to do, to ensure this is a good move. People tend to have this ‘tunnel vision’ on the treasure, when we still need to conduct necessary evaluations before giving our all to gain it.
Caprino adds that a cure to your chronic ‘trusting the wrong people’ quest is to slow down, conduct a thorough, balanced and unemotional assessment of the person and the opportunity, and ask for outside input.
Read the full rundown of signs you need to look for in untrustworthy people here.
Building trust at work
In the realms of trust, there are two polar standings: those who trust too easily, and those who can never seem to trust others fully. Anywhere you might be on that spectrum, building trust will still be an important skill to have at work.
A group of organizational behavior researchers have compiled the most effective ways you could do to build interpersonal trust with your colleagues:
Acknowledging other people’s emotions in general.
Saying to a coworker, “Hey, you seem upset,” leads people to see you as more trustworthy. Not only the person whose emotions you are acknowledging, but also any observers who witness the act.
Acknowledging negative emotions over positive emotions.
Most people see acknowledging negative emotions as being more costly in terms of time, attention, and effort. But it turns out this additional cost is also rewarding. People will feel that you care more, and therefore more willing to trust.
Acknowledging emotions rathe than the situation.
People give more credit to those who call out their emotions directly (“You seem upset”) than those who call out the situation (“Looks like your meeting went poorly”). It makes them feel more validated and humanized.
Not all mistakes are created equal.
If you mistakenly acknowledge a positive emotion (“You look calm”) when someone feels negatively, that can really hurt trust. By acknowledging a negative emotion, you’re still signaling a readiness to provide support.
Learn how the researcher group came up with the above conclusions + when acknowledgement can backfire in the full HBR piece here.
Where do you fall in the trust spectrum: too trusting? Need to trust more easily?
If reading the title of this Monday Mavens edition reminds you of someone you know who might struggle with trust—whether from past experiences or just personal traits, do keep them in the loop by pressing the share button!
While you relay the insights we’ve compiled here, we’ll get back to scouring the internet for more valuable insights for you.
See you next Monday!