Trust is…?

How do you think about "trust"? When I think about the people I "trust", I can see I've learned to do so over time and through the living of life. Or similarly, I've learned through the living of life to not trust, or to be selective about the areas and conditions in which I trust, which means learning my own boundaries about what's ok and what's not for me and my needs (a lifelong, ongoing and changing journey).

💚 Building trust requires immense courage, vulnerability (e.g. think Brene Brown's work or Amy Edmondson's fearless cultures). Building trust asks a lot of us. It requires us to be active, open, curious, cohesive, and empathetic.

🧗‍♂️ It can be incredibly difficult. I am sure I am not alone in this. Ruptures happen. Ruptures are essential, in fact. Can you build deep and genuine trust without ruptures? And, sometimes those ruptures are not repaired, which is OK too. Things happen, people change. I'm reminded of the old wisdom about people being in our lives for a reason, a season, or a lifetime. But when ruptures are repaired that offers an incredible opportunity for deepening trust and understanding.

🚀 Ruptures may keep occuring, but with Deutch's explanations model in mind, they can become better ruptures, similar to the infinite goal of expanding knowledge by seeking/exploring better problems (not solutions thinking). Better, or at least different, ruptures, and more repairs, and deeper connections.

🏗 Self-understanding is essential to this puzzle. Without this, we cannot find solid ground on which to stand, to rest, and to grow. There's a lot more to say here, but for now, a nod.

🧵 Then, I pick up a different thread and I ask myself, why did this particular idea about trust appeal to me, today? I came up with these musings, that I share with you, in case it's of interest to you too.

▪️"Trust" is a core human need
▪️It seems incredibly important to strengthen connections in our ever changing and challenging world.
▪️From the "balcony view" I notice a lot of voices talking about trust and offering frameworks and tools to support better work, better teams, better relationships, etc. Lots of these voices are great, but for me, sometimes it also feels like a distraction or a blurring technical lens, combined with people promoting their models.
▪️With all of this in mind, I felt myself yearning to bring "trust" back to a simple and instinctive human experience. One that feels somehow refreshing, natural, with less load - and more accessible, possible, within grasp and within the "right" for every human. Whether that be with your team, your colleagues, or your people in your personal life.

⚡️I'm curious, of course, if any of this sparks thoughts for you?

#trust #leadershipcoach #leadershipdevelopment