Do you give your trust away or expect your team, peers, and clients to earn it?

This is the age-old question and one I’ve heard more often than not, trust is earned.
 
While that philosophy seems to make sense given that trust is built on a relationship and if you don’t have a relationship, there isn’t a foundation of trust that exists.
 
If you’re expecting someone to earn your trust - how do they actually do that?
 
Is it that they:
 
■ Are respectful
■ Communicate with impact
■ Inspire & Motivate their team
■ Align with the values of the organization
■ Respond within’ a certain timeframe
■ Show up on time
■ Follow up and follow through on projects
■ Willing to learn
 
etc.etc.etc.
 
The challenge becomes that it’s not communicated them that they are starting with no trust
 
AND
 
Expectations aren’t set on how to gain trust
 
Therefore, it’s a moving target on how they can gain your trust and people will let you down.
 
I choose to give my trust to people and:
 
➜ Clearly communicate my expectations
➜ Listen to their expectations of me
➜ Be responsible for my actions and hold them responsible for theirs
 
And if there’s a breakdown in trust, we talk about it. 
 
It takes a significant amount of energy to keep evaluating them to determine if they’re trustworthy or not.
 
I choose to take that energy and utilize it elsewhere.
 
What’s your choice?