Business is conducted through human interaction.  Success, for any individual or group, depends on positive relationships.  Trust is the critical factor for building and sustaining positive relationships.  Unfortunately, trust is often elusive and frail.

Patrick Lencioni, in his book The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, depicts team dysfunction as a pyramid with five layers.  The bottom layer is the base for all the rest - “absence of trust.”  The absence of trust not only causes challenges at work but often erodes our personal relationships as well.  

Individual performance improves in high trust environments.  People who feel trusted tend to have increased self confidence.  They are more willing to try new things, have higher levels of responsibility and tend to hold themselves more accountable for results. When employee trust is high, the workers feel more secure, are more loyal and stay with a company longer.

Managers cannot do the work themselves.  Their success depends on the ability to effectively delegate tasks.   A supervisor that does not trust the workers will have difficulty delegating.  When managers take on too many tasks themselves, or lean toward micromanagement, stress levels increase with resulting decreases in performance.  Low trust delegation often overworks the more trusted employees and limits the opportunity of other workers to establish trust.

Team success requires open, honest and direct communication.  In trusting environments, team members are more willing to share their weaknesses and mistakes.  This allows the team to work together toward improvement.  Team members who trust each other are more open to positive confrontation and more willing to engage in healthy conflict.  This level of communication promotes greater understanding and better decisions.

Many of us look at trust as something that must be earned.  This is a learned behavior.  New born babies seem to have an unusually high capacity for trust.  It is only after frequent breaches of trust, frequent perceived or real betrayals, that we arrive at the point where trust must be earned.  Paradoxically, it takes trust to build or "rebuild" trust.

The trust building process flows in a positive self perpetuating cycle.  As we take a risk to trust and others respond favorably, trust grows which then leads to more comfort in trusting.  The negative "betrayal" cycle is also self perpetuating.  When someone takes the risk to trust us and our actions cause them to feel betrayed they are less trusting and less likely to take the risk to trust us in the future. This gives us little opportunity to demonstrate that we can be trustworthy.

A perfect example can be seen in open, honest, direct communication.  When we trust others, we are more comfortable being open in our communication with them.  When trust is lacking, we may tend to withhold information or even be deceptive.  Our honesty is respected and builds trust.  However, If someone perceives that we are dishonest or secretive, they feel betrayed and trust us less. 

Here are a few tips that can help you build or "rebuild" trust.

1. Take risks - empower others and share openly with them.

2. Be open, honest and direct in you communication.

3. Accept honesty from others.

4. Respond to others openness with respect and concern.

5. Be accountable - do what you say.

Establishing and sustaining trust requires exploration and a concerted effort over time.  The value obtained from improved relationships and resulting levels of achievement are worth the effort.  Take the risk.

Isn't it remarkable how nature plays and replays the miracle of metamorphosis throughout the plant and animal kingdom?

I once sat on a boat dock and watched a dragonfly emerge from it's shell, struggle to dry itself in the sun and finally fly away.  The process took hours.  The fish weren't biting!

This same struggle for emergence - for the success of life - may be seen in other more abstract journeys as well.

Once upon a time Idea lie hidden in darkness.  Idea was without form or function.  Isolated and without substance, Idea had little hope of growing into anything real and meaningful.  She was afraid.  As she poked her head out of the nothingness, no one even noticed she was there.

Idea so wanted the chance to become a success - to live and to be appreciated.  Would anyone ever recognize her?  Would she come and go like a gentle breeze without a trace?  Would there be nothing to reveal that she ever existed?

After a time, Word came to Idea.  With Word's help, Idea began to take shape.  Over time, Idea started to be seen and even recognized.  Word gave Idea substance and a transformation began.  As more and more people noticed Idea, Hope came along.

With the help of Hope, Idea grew stronger.  Word was now able to add clarity offering concepts of how Idea felt and what it was like to be in her presence.  When Word introduced Idea to additional sensory perceptions such as sound and taste she grew even more. 

More people noticed Idea and some even understood her.  She started feeling safe, warm and wanted.  As Word traveled, Idea was shared with many and some even realized her tremendous potential.  Word and Hope started Idea on a transformational journey into something special.  Practically overnight she emerged as a Vision, a shared Vision.

Although Idea had become Vision, this journey of metamorphosis was just starting.  The road was was long and hard.  There was much to learn and more changes would be needed.  As Vision's popularity grew, more and more people came to take a look and with them came Evaluation.

Evaluation was joined by Suspicion and they suggested that Vision really had no value and should be sent back to nothingness.  They gathered a large group of Challenges who stood in Vision's path making things difficult and holding her back.  Vision decided to sit for a while and while she did Apathy came to her.

Apathy talked of how good it was just to sit there.  "Why bother to struggle with all those Challenges?  This journey is not that important anyway."  Vision began to think that Apathy was right.  The journey was too long and too hard. Perhaps all the effort would be for nothing.  Perhaps there was no reason to continue.

Vision missed Hope very much.  She knew that more help would be needed.  But where would the help come from? Then, like a knight in shining armor, Plan came riding down the road.

Plan could actually see a way around all the Challenges.   Plan could see the end of the journey and how to get there.  Plan called up Hope who came back immediately.  Together, they gave Vision new courage and strength and the journey continued.

With all this help Vision found that the road seemed straighter, easier and less of a struggle.  She was joyfully coasting down the hill when Apathy's little cousin Complacency came along side.

Complacency told Vision to relax.  It was easy to see that the next hill was low and Vision could gain enough speed going down this hill to coast over the next and on to the end of the journey.  There was no need to try or work any longer.  The journey was as good as over.

Vision welcomed the opportunity to relax.  How great it was just coasting down the hill.  She reached the bottom and continued coasting up the other side.  But then Vision began to slow down and came to a stop.  She was far short of the top of the hill and the hill was much steeper than she thought when Complacency was running along with her.

She was so close and now it looked as though she wouldn't make it at all.  If only she hadn't listened to Complacency and kept her speed up.  If only she hadn't slowed down.  If only...  But then, she felt a strong hand at her back.  Vision was actually being pushed up the hill.  Tenacity had come to save her.

With the help of Tenacity she made it to the top of the hill and down the other side.  She reached a cool stream, took a drink and fell asleep.  The morning was bright with a sweet smell in the air when Vision awoke.  But she wasn't Vision any more.  She had become Success.  The journey and the transformation was complete.

Every idea has potential but the road to success is long and arduous. We must nurture ideas with words, keep hope, and formulate plans.  We have to overcome challenges and not give in to apathy or accept complacency.  In the end it takes tenacity to complete the journey.

Success is like a fine chocolate.  The only thing sweeter is more!