Have you ever been to Yellowstone National Park in the U.S.?

If you have, you might have encountered Old Faithful, a geyser that gets its name because it regularly shoots steam and water to great heights. In fact, with a margin of error of 10 minutes, Old Faithful will erupt either every 65 or every 91 minutes, depending on the length of the previous eruption. It’s been doing this since 1870.

A few weeks ago, I wrote about one aspect of The Trust Creation Process. It’s a five-step model describing how trust gets created in conversations: Engage, Listen, Frame, Envision, Commit (“ELFEC” for short). The Trust Creation Process was first introduced by Charlie Green and his co-authors in The Trusted Advisor.

​I​f you’ve been with us for a few weeks, you’ve probably noticed a theme: personal risk-taking. This week’s tip highlights a special kind of risk-taking.

Imagine a long-term personal relationship, like a marriage, where difficult conversations are absent. It’s likely not a sustainable relationship. Concerns pile up over time, and if left unspoken, the relationship can’t benefit from the shared experience of intimacy that comes from working through them.

Most of us probably agree in theory with the principle of transparency—being honest, open, and candid. It is easy to say, “Honesty is the best policy!” Dig a little deeper and it is not so clear.

Trust typically gets created between people, and usually in conversations. The Trust Creation Process, brought to us by the authors of The Trusted Advisor, is a five-step model describing how this works best: Engage, Listen, Frame, Envision, Commit—or “ELFEC” for short.