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More tidbits on “trust” with friend, speaker, author (“Radical Trust”) and part-time CEO of CCG/FASTER, Joe Healey.

Jeff Blackman: If trust is lost, how can it be recovered or rebuilt?

Joe Healey: By accepting responsibility first. And then, by developing the competencies in the area(s) that caused the lost trust.

We lose trust based on poorly doing and/or saying something. So the trick is pinpointing the root cause of why we did or said the wrong thing.

Almost always, when you drill down on why we lose trust, it uncovers a need to develop one of these seven character traits I espouse in “Radical Trust.” Like:

1. Internal honesty (internal reasoning) 2. Candor (honesty with others) 3. Integrity (doing what you say you’ll do) 4. Humility (internal ability to make others more valuable than yourself) 5. Gratitude (actions and words that show humility and the valuing of others) 6. Tenacity (deep reserves of energy and commitment) 7. Financial discipline (alignment of your values and where you invest money)

JB: How does trust drive results in our personal and professional lives?

JH: In these fast moving and rapidly changing competitive times, people can’t rely on money and price, or power and fear, as much as they used to in order to sell or gain cooperation.

Personal influence has become more important. Simply put, if you’re a person others believe in and know they can trust, you have access to them, their people, their input, their hopes, dreams, problems, challenges, and yes, even the resources or dollars they possess and control.

JB: Why do people fall prey to “blind trust?”

JH: Trust should not be given freely. It is and should be metered, as people earn it. It’s wrong to give people less trust than their past warrants. That stifles growth and can lead to micro-management. But giving trust blindly is unwise.

You have three options when it comes to trust:

1. Improve your ability to earn it by mastering the competencies that cause others to release it to you.

2. Stop giving trust to those who don’t fulfill these competencies. Unfortunately, deciding to stop trusting somebody can mean you have to go somewhere else to work or buy what you want. And while that has risk, you’ll almost always be better off working with and buying from people you trust.

3. Begin giving more trust to those who have earned it and watch your relationship and profits grow.

JB: So how do you create high levels of trust within a company?

JH: Here are five steps to build radical trust at the start of an employee relationship:

1. Express and confirm the talent you see 2. Tell them your expectations 3. Stress, it’s their responsibility to achieve results 4. Emphasize, that your contribution, is to help remove roadblocks and solve problems they can’t solve.

5. Give them permission to contact you for help.

Make this clear, so they truly feel your availability. Yet, set parameters so it’s productive. You don’t just want to be “accessible.” You want to be welcoming. Yet make sure, they see this as a business relationship.

That’s the secret. The relationship places “positive tension” on them to exceed your expectations.

And to continue exceeding your expectations, take a peek at www.joehealey.com/trust-model.html

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Jeff Blackman is a speaker, author, success coach, broadcaster and lawyer who lives part-time on Marco Island. His clients call him a “business-growth specialist.” Send an e-mail to jeff@jeffblackman.com or go to www.jeffblackman.com to subscribe to his free e-letter.