It is hard to earn and quite rightly so.
Once you have gained it, it should prove that it is an essential ingredient very successful business needs in a fiercely competitive modern world.
Any business owner or leader will resonate with this and, if you are not on the same page as them, there will be little that you can do to change their minds.
What is it that every successful business needs and how do you go about making sure you provide it better than anybody else?
Whilst there is a long list of wants and needs, as well as requirements, that a business owner or leader can relate to, the one thing in business, in fact anything, that is most needed is trust.
Trust is the one essential ingredient every successful business needs. Without it, the business cannot go very far. In fact, I would go as far as to say that it won’t get off the ground without it.
Trust presents itself in a variety of ways.
It might be in the form of needing to trust yourself as a business owner or leader in the decisions you make.
The learning curve a business owner or leader faces is steep and the decisions that have to be made on a daily basis can create conflict and challenge within. The approach taken in these decisions can largely be dependent upon the consequential size of each, however, needless to say that the trust you have, as a business owner or leader, in yourself needs to be present in order for you to move your business forward in anything you do.
It could be because you are delegating important matters to a colleague, associate or consultant.
Nothing can be gained by mistrusting the very people you deal with regularly and require to be able to leave business matters with to progress in business.
It is often that business relationships with potential clients require trust to be built and strengthened before financial generating activities take place.
The exposure to any person requires a relationship to be built from scratch for a business to succeed and without trust, the relationship is likely to be fraught with difficulties.
It would be unusual for you to trust a person from the outset that you have only just met.
This might happen to a certain extent on occasions, of course, as we trust in professionals providing a service that we have little dialogue with beforehand such as an accountant, a hairdresser or a dentist.
Recommendations for such professionals are often sought so that the trust you obtain comes from a third party formed within one of your existing relationships, be it a friend, a colleague or a family member.
However, when it comes to trusting someone with your business and all that you have built within it, it somehow feels to matter more. The trust built with anyone can take much more time. Maybe that is because it is your name on the line and your livelihood at stake.
How can you build trust?
Building trust with someone takes time.
Anyone rushing to gain someone’s trust might not be as likely to be as sincere as they might first have appeared.
Patience is key as everyone builds relationships differently to others.
Some may be quicker to trust in others whilst others may take much longer.
It is important to make sure that you go at the pace of the person you are wanting to gain trust from. That, in itself, builds a confidence in you they may not have expected which will put them at ease.
Many years ago, I worked for someone who admitted they trusted me implicitly but still liked to check over everything I did before it was issued.
Another provided me full autonomy from the outset, in which I learnt much for myself through speaking with people and gauging where people fitted into their life and how.
In both scenarios, being myself allowed the people I worked with to quickly establish the kind of person I was: transparent, communicative and straightforward.
It took adaptability and flexibility to work with such different people but they were both equally as fulfilling.
By being this way in whatever you do enables people to feel at ease and recognised that you are there as a solid, dependable and trustworthy person.
How can you retain trust?
Just as trust is the essential ingredient every successful business needs, integrity has to be present at all times also.
This is explained in a LinkedIn interview with Zame I was invited to as a business owner, in which I shared insights gained throughout my career. You can read the full interview here.
I learned very early on that it’s not just about being seen to do something that truly matters.
Doing things ‘properly’ and ‘with good intention’ is easy enough when you know you’re being watched. It is, however, how you work when you are alone that truly sets you apart.
Acting as if the most important person in your life is observing you sets the highest standard for yourself.
When you act with integrity, you shall not feel disappointed in yourself or have regrets afterwards. It’s not just about being honest; integrity means adhering to your moral values. Staying true to yourself, even if it doesn’t align with those around you, will earn respect and loyalty from those who matter.
In today’s world, professionals are valued for their ‘cultural fit’, making integrity a celebrated quality. Acting with integrity makes you credible, trusted, dependable and a valuable resource.
Their trust in you will be built from a genuinely strong foundation that is much easier to be retained.
You have a person’s trust. What now?
Once real trust is established in any relationship, a mutual respect is formed and a genuine friendship can often flourish.
An understanding between two people creates a bond that can be hard to break and the alliance strengthens to form an established partnership.
It is when this happens that great things can occur.
The credibility gained from having a person’s trust feels rewarding. It is then that a person can feel they have been accepted into the other person’s inner circle.
The tight-knit relationship and trust felt between two people allows them to anticipate what the other might do or say in certain circumstances without needing to be told; they might instinctively know exactly how to go about matters; and they subconsciously work productively alongside one another simultaneously regardless of their geographical locations.
Easily losing it
Whilst it can be a longer process to gain a person’s trust, it can be very easily and quickly lost if the other person takes advantage of it.
Keeping the other person’s expectations in mind at all times is key as it might be tempting to ‘cut corners’ in any routine processes.
By doing this and letting your personal standards slip, a person is susceptible to losing their integrity and, in turn, letting down the person they have built a level of trust in.
Betraying a person’s trust in any relationship is catastrophic.
There is often no way back from it.
When it comes down to it, trust is something that we can all easily gain from anybody.
The secret is to be yourself.
By acting honestly and authentically, with only the person’s best interests at heart, it can surely only lead to good things for both of you.
Trust is the essential ingredient every successful business needs.
It is certain that everything cannot be done by one person alone, that is not sustainable
There will come a time that they will no longer have the time or capacity to do certain things themselves, nor would they be sensible taking things on that they are not expert in themselves.
People do business with people. We all need to be able to trust a wide range and variety of people to succeed in what we are doing in business.
It is true what they say…
Once trust between two people is established, the opportunities are endless.
If you believe you are ready to trust an experienced professional that will help support and assist you in your business growth, please get in touch.
Anna
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