Trust - We know it when we see it
Over the last few years I have learned a lot about trust. Not specifically because of personal experiences, although they help reinforce what I have learned. Instead the learnings are from discussions, research, and insights offered by experts. We all have heard many times that it takes time to build trust and just a moment to shatter it. What was new to me was the many ways in which trust manifests itself in our daily lives.
Trust takes many shapes and forms. What follows are some of them.
Competence Trust - There is the trust we have in or develops when we interact with people who have particular skills we need. For example, a favorite car mechanic. We may have found them ourselves, or they might have been recommended to us - but the bottom line is that we trust them to fix our car.
Role-based trust - This is trust we place in someone because of their position. We have no relationship with them. However, based on their role, such as a nurse, the school principal, or a police officer.
Calculus-based trust - This is the most foundational type of trust. It is basically the trust that builds as a result of positive experiences with others. For example, when you promise someone something by a certain date and deliver, you begin to be seen as trustworthy. If the scenario repeats, lets say you have something due every Friday, and every Friday you deliver, trust builds.
Identity-based trust - This is the type of trust that we usually think about when we first think about trust. It is the trust of our most treasured relationships. For example, those with close friends, a partner or a sibling. This is the trust that can take time to build and requires nurturing over time.
Another dimension of trust is how people approach relationships with other people. Of course it is situation dependent, but generally people approach new relationships with high or low levels of trust. If someone starts with low trust, then one must work to build it over time. Similarly, if the relationship starts with high trust, the trust is there by default, but there is a requirement that the trust be actively sustained.
Until I started learning about trust, all I could really articulate about trust was that I knew it when I saw it. It has been really interesting to learn more and to unravel some of the complexities that surround the subject.
What are your thoughts about trust? What have you noticed about building trust in your relationships?
