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.

My 90-year-old mom broke her wrist the other day and it has gotten me thinking about the importance of perspective as both a life skill and a relationship skill. (She’s fine, by the way, just very inconvenienced at the moment.)

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?