The Importance of Trust

Strange things happening in Mesa Dunes.

In one of our earlier meetings, a man made a comment that was probably one of the most profound things said during the time that we've been talking about conversion.  He said, "It's all about trust."

It is clear to me is that we are in a situation where we don't know whom to trust.  And, it's not just here in the park. Our whole society is suffering from broken trust.  We no longer trust our doctors, lawyers, journalists, priests, policemen, advertisers, corporations, scientists, or our political leaders. It has become acceptable not to believe anything that anyone says.  

Years ago, as I was working with corporations to help them design and implement change initiatives, it became clear that the biggest barrier to success was something we could not see or touch.  We couldn't write memos to it, talk to it or even hire or fire it.  

But we could see it when it was there and feel it when it wasn't.  It was trust ... or the lack of trust ... and it was like an invisible web, as strong as steel, that held things together when it was there and let things fall apart when it wasn't.

We started talking and thinking a lot about trust.  Of course, we found that just saying "trust me" didn't work, as a matter of fact, it seemed to have the opposite effect from the one we wanted.  

So, we started trying to figure out what caused trust and what broke it.  We came up with seven basic components of trust and, when we focused on getting those components right, everything started changing for the better.  

Here are the elements we identified and some questions to ask before we grant our trust to someone else … and questions to ask of ourselves to see if we deserve the trust of others.

Safety -- Do I feel safe taking a risk and listening to new ideas? Do we help others feel safe and respected?

Concern for well-being -- Does the person or entity asking for my trust have concern for my well-being? Are we thinking about the well-being of others as well as ourselves?

Fairness -- Is everyone treated fairly and equitably and getting the same deal as everyone else? Are we treating everyone we meet fairly?

Competence -- Does the person know the facts and have the expertise to understand every aspect of the situation? Are we learning everything we can to develop our own competence?  

Openness -- Does everyone feel free sharing their ideas and concerns?  Are all opinions valued and listened to? Do we invite everyone into the conversation and share our own thoughts and feelings openly?

Reliability -- Can we count on promises and commitments being kept? Do we keep the promises and commitment we make?

Honesty and Integrity -- Do we value honest and integrity enough to demand it of ourselves and everyone we interact with?

These things are not easy to practice, but trust is critical to our lives, our community and our society at large.  

When we can't trust anyone, we feel lost, alone, unsafe, fearful.  It breaks my heart that we as a society … and we, right here in our own community, have reached this point of broken trust.  

Because we have to trust each other.  

We can't make it in the world without trust.  When we get out of bed in the morning, we trust that the lights and water will be there for us.  When we go to the store, we trust that people will drive on the right side of the road and stop at stop lights.  We trust that there will be food in the store when we get there and that they will take our money in exchange for the groceries we purchase.  

Trust is the glue that holds us together … and here in the park we've come slightly unglued.  My hope is that we can begin to talk together and build the trust we need to make good decisions about the future of the park.  Conversion is a long and complex process, we need to learn to trust each other enough to gather sound information that will serve everyone involved.

Years ago, I co-authored an article titled, "Trust Comes before Risk-Taking."  You can read it here.