Last week I focused on one of the greatest opportunities for us all to improve our trustworthiness: getting off our “S” (self-orientation). I wrote about Level 1 troubleshooting, which zeros in on the fundamentals (things like being curious, generous, and truly committed to doing right by them). This week we go deeper with Level 2 to deal with the sneaky parts.

 

One of the greatest opportunities for us all to improve our trustworthiness lies in the self-orientation variable of the trust equation. Fortunately, there are specific things we all can do about that.

 

I was talking to a friend/colleague just the other day who recently lost her father after many years of illness. It’s always so hard to know what to say in these moments, and I reached back to lessons shared from Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg after her husband’s unexpected death. Given all the turmoil in our world, and, in particular, the disasters befalling the U.S. in recent weeks, I thought a re-post was called for.

This week got off to a rocky start with the realization that my computer, which had been coughing and sputtering for several days, was officially on life support. So I scrambled to deal with this major productivity hit while of course muttering multiple times to myself, “Will it matter a year from now?”

 

I recall the time I ran for a seat on the condo board of what was then a brand new community. I lost. In front of about 60 people. Looking back at what worked and didn’t about my little platform speech (I had three minutes to pitch myself to the group), I see three important lessons about trust-building to tease out of my defeat.

 

When it comes to trust-building, excellence matters. It relates to two of four fundamental dimensions of trustworthiness (under the headings “credibility” and “reliability”). There’s a catch, though, because the way you pursue that excellence might actually damage your trust-building efforts.

One of the things I love most about leading workshops is how much I learn from participants. A few years ago, someone offered one of the best and simplest trust-building tips out there. It occurred to me the other day, when I was searching for tip topics, that I haven’t yet mentioned it to you.

The story of a recent email exchange between an employee and her CEO caught my eye, thanks to a colleague who made sure it did. Important trust lessons lie within about (1) the merits of candor and (2) the importance of giving ourselves a certain kind of break.

 

It’s vacation time in the U.S. when most of us try to squeeze as much as possible out of what remains of summer. Out-of-office messages abound. Are you making the most of yours?