Last week’s tip on creating a high-trust culture reminded me of a compelling story about one global CEO’s take on how to resolve the disconnect that can exist between the trust principles we all aspire to and the ways we’re incented to do business.

We shared this story in The Trusted Advisor Fieldbook. It came about when my co-author, Charlie Green, had the opportunity to watch Bill Green, then-Chairman and CEO of Accenture (and no relation). Bill was addressing a very senior leadership group at the end of a two-day offsite.

I’ve been having a lot of conversations with clients lately about how to create a culture of trust. Here’s a four-part “test” to see how well you’re doing on that front.

In The Trusted Advisor Fieldbook, Charlie Green and I asserted that there are two basic dimensions of trust-based organizations: virtues and values. Virtues are the personal qualities that high-trust people embody—tools like the trust equation help here. Values are what guide the decisions and day-to-day actions in the organizations people work in. We said that in high-trust cultures, virtues and values are consistent and mutually reinforcing.

Old and unchallenged ways of thinking lead to ineffective ways of being. Consider three common myths about trust-building that could be standing in your way.

Myth #1: Trust takes time. You know the saying, “Trust takes a long time to build, but only a moment to destroy.”

Masterful listening is one of the fastest ways to build intimacy in any relationship. It’s also an essential (albeit unexpected) driver of influence. To help the cause, there’s another new eBook on the street—a hand-picked collection of simple and underused listening best practices.