Continued Excerpts from Chapter 5
Principle #5 Freedom Turns Ideas and vision Into Reality

 

The Trust Curve

Trust is being able to express yourself freely, openly and without hesitation, because you feel protected and safe from having to experience shame, physical harm, hurt or guilt. Now think about the people in your life. Using this definition of trust, where do people in your life fall on your trust curve? We all have a trust curve, and we put everyone we know somewhere on it. That also means you’re on everyone else’s trust curve.

At the beginning of any interaction most people put others at the bottom of their trust curve, indicating that trust, in most people’s mind, is earned. Then, through “feel good” experiences, you move people up your trust curve. The more you feel able to express yourself freely, openly, and without hesitation, because you feel protected and safe when you’re around that person, that person may even make it to the top of your trust curve. These are the people you would do whatever it takes to help, support and ensure their success. It feels amazing when you’re at the top of someone’s trust curve, and it feels unbelievably fantastic when two people are at the top of each other’s trust curve simultaneously—the ultimate relationship. The people at the top of our trust curve are the people who fuel us with healthy energy, and who receive healthy energy from us.          

The opposite is also true. We all have people in our lives whom we don’t feel safe and protected around when it comes to expressing ourselves freely, openly and without hesitation. We have people in our lives who stir the fear of shame, physical harm, hurt or guilt within us (even if those feelings being stirred are from years ago and not directly related to the current situation). These people are at the bottom of our trust curve, and we are cautious, consciously or unconsciously, about doing anything for these people. These are the people who deplete our good energy, fill us with stress, and receive unhealthy energy from us.

People’s trust curves go with them everywhere. There are no exceptions, especially in business. Businesses that have healthy engagement and a client-centric culture are placed high on people’s trust curve. The higher the business is placed on an individual’s trust curve, the better the engagement—there’s a direct correlation. The goal of any business should be optimal placement on everyone trust curve, because then and only then, are people expressing their ideas freely, openly and without hesitation. Then and only then, is a business able to achieve a high-performing client-centered culture that’s positioned to win. 

 

Trust Curve Assessment

A high-performing client-centered culture is possible only when the business is high on everyone’s trust curve. If people don’t trust the business or their leader(s), then people won’t be motivated to accomplish anything beyond the minimum requirement.

The first step in establishing business-wide trust is to find out where the business is on the collective trust curve. To do that, you can administer a trust curve assessment to everyone in the business. Or, leaders can use the assessment to strengthen specific teams within the business.

The assessment comprises 12 statements, each of which receives a percentage (0 – 100 percent) as a response. The response percentages are then averaged, and the average percentage is where your business is on the trust curve. The assessment needs to be delivered to everyone in the business or team for an accurate result. And of course, it should be made very clear that all individual assessment responses are confidential.

The following are the 12 trust curve statements. You can easily replace “my leader” or “the business” with a specific name of a person or work-group to gain more detailed or broader insight.

 

What percentage of time are these statements true (0 – 100% of the time)?

  1. My leader’s behaviors help me feel as though I can express my ideas freely, openly and without hesitation.
  2. What my leader tells me is always true.
  3. My leader is always clear and transparent with communication, and because of this I always know where I stand and what is expected of me.
  4. The information the business communicates is always true.
  5. My leader has my best interests in mind anytime decisions are made.
  6. My leader listens to me, and I know my leader hears what I say because he or she responds with genuine questions, comments or beneficial concerns.
  7. My leader always makes me feel supported and helps me to know that I add value. I know this to be true because gaining my input and following-up with commitments made is a priority that he or she always attains. 
  8. My leader allows me to freely make decisions, take care of clients, and implement new ideas in my own unique way. I feel that my skills are trusted.
  9. My leader shows compassion; genuinely empathizes with others and authentically shows sympathy as needed.
  10. My leader honors confidentiality and I trust that he or she will always follow through on commitments made to me and/or the broader team.
  11. I completely trust that my leader’s response to my ideas and opinions will not cause me to feel shame, hurt, guilt or embarrassment. 
  12. I trust that I can be my true self within the team environment, and that my leader and peers genuinely respect and value me.

 

 

 

 

CH 5 PRINCIPLE #5 FREEDOM TURNS IDEAS AND VISION INTO REALITY | FUEL YOUR BUSINESS: HOW TO ENERGIZE PEOPLE, IGNITE ACTION AND DRIVE PROFITS © 2014 GINA SOLEIL aLL RIGHTS RESERVED