How long could you go without trusting anyone? If you could not rely on anyone else: how long could you survive? How will you get your next meal? How could you pay for anything if the store didn’t trust the money you give them was authentic currency? Even the idea of money relies on trust. It relies on trusting the system where I give away something of value now in the expectation that I can gain something of equal value later. Maybe you are driving in the car right now. You are trusting that the other drivers on the road will follow traffic rules. In fact, you are trusting the company that made your car that they made it without defects that could put your safety at risk.
Trust is very personal but it is also what allows society as we know it to function. Trust is the currency of communication. It is the core of cooperation. It is the building block of relationships, institutions, companies and civilization itself. This is why trust is the difference between fulfilling and oppressive relationships. It’s why trust is the difference between toxic and top performing teams.
Today we talk to Melanie Marshall about the heart and soul of trust.
Melanie has worked in the public and private sector, in organizations and projects big and small. She could see firsthand the impact of not trusting people to do the jobs they were hired for and how that erodes team performance. Now Melanie helps organizations to foster trust. She is like a personal trainer for leaders and companies wanting sustainable high performance to achieve transformation. She is also the author of Trust: The Foundation of Healthy Organisations and Teams.
We trust that you enjoy this heartfelt and soulful conversation with Melanie Marshall.
You can listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher and Simplecast.
Show Notes
2:43 – no fear of public speaking after doing a body building competition.
8:38 – focus on who you want to be, not what you want to be.
15:33 – people are not trusted to do the job they were hired for.
16:26 – being trusted is not up to you to decide, its up to the other person.
17:36 – why Melanie wrote the book, Trust.
20:37 – respect comes from feeling trusted.
21:41 – the core of communication and leadership.
22:52 – what do organisations look like when there is no trust?
27:26 – trust is just as important for personal relationships.
31:9 – getting people to own up to bad news.
38:5 – deal with conflicts early.
42:47 – why beliefs about trust are important.
45:46 – belief about whether trust is earned or given.
47:23 – earning trust.
51:50 – HEART + SOUL model of trust.
55:19 – honesty: does it require trust or build trust?
56:20 – earning trust is on their timeframe, not ours.
58:53 – don’t jump in with the answer.
62:5 – does helping others build or erode trust?
64:29 – responding from values rather than reacting from emotion.
72:36 – can you be too nice?
75:39 – when you have to build trust very quickly.
81:0 – taking time to connect at work can feel non-productive.
94:10 – connect with Melanie.
