Forging Trust at Work

Download PDF Print Practice

How to do it
Why to Try It
Podcast

Time Required

10 minutes to do the exercise. Building trust, of course, is a longer process that takes repeated positive interactions.

How to Do It

Identify one person whom you'd like to build more trust with. Perhaps start with someone you know, who has moderate trust in you already, but would be beneficial to have a more trusting relationship with.
Consider the three key levers that influence how much someone trusts you:

Ability: The belief that you have the means, knowledge, and skills to do something for them.

Benevolence: The belief that you have their best interests at heart and the desire to do good to others (loyalty, openness, and supportiveness).

Integrity: The belief that you’ll follow through on what you say you’ll do with honesty, moral uprightness, and consistency.
Identify specific actions you can take to increase trust:

Ability: What can I do to increase their belief about my abilities?

Benevolence: What can I do to increase their belief about me having their best interests at heart?

Integrity: What can I do to increase their belief that I will follow through and do what I say I’m going to do?
Take the actions you outlined and observe the results, if any.

Why You Should Try It

Researchers define trust as “the intention to accept vulnerability based on positive expectations of others’ actions.” In the workplace, trust is especially important as it is the foundation of healthy relationships, leading to greater knowledge sharing and organizational performance.

Since research suggests that trust is largely based on people’s perceptions of each other's abilities, benevolence, and integrity, this exercise invites you to identify someone whose trust you'd like to strengthen and to reflect on practical ways you can demonstrate your abilities (showing competence in relevant skills or knowledge), benevolence (showing genuine care and support), and integrity (acting fairly, honestly, and consistently).

According to a meta-analysis of over 130 studies, these three key characteristics—ability, benevolence, and integrity—predict trust. The researchers also found that people in organizations with higher levels of trust show improved cooperation and job performance, more helping, and fewer counterproductive workplace behaviors like conflict or sabotage. Intentionally strengthening your ability, benevolence, and integrity can build trust that not only improves your relationships, but also improves organizational performance.

Why It Works

As the saying goes, “trust is gained in drops and lost in buckets,” and there can be so many reasons why someone doesn’t trust us. If we’re trying to build trust, the sheer number of reasons for distrust can be overwhelming, so it can be helpful to narrow it down and focus on the three specific areas in this practice.

Once you’ve identified the key areas where trust might be lacking, you can make a plan to address them.

Evidence That It Works

Colquitt, J. A., Scott, B. A., & LePine, J. A. (2007). Trust, trustworthiness, and trust propensity: A meta-analytic test of their unique relationships with risk taking and job performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 92(4), 909–927.

This meta-analysis combined results from 132 independent studies to identify the qualities that most consistently build trust in workplace relationships. The researchers found that three dimensions of trustworthiness—ability (demonstrating competence), benevolence (showing genuine care and concern), and integrity (acting fairly and keeping one's word)—were all strong, independent predictors of trust. They also found that people in organizations with higher levels of trust showed greater willingness to take interpersonal risks, better job performance, more helping and cooperation, and fewer counterproductive workplace behaviors.

Who has tried the practice?

Although more research is needed on this specific reflection exercise, the underlying model of trustworthiness has been widely studied across workplace settings and has been found to apply to trust in both supervisors and coworkers. The meta-analysis synthesized findings from employees working in a wide variety of organizations and occupations, and in a number of different countries (including the United States, Netherlands, Singapore, and Japan), suggesting that the principles of demonstrating ability, benevolence, and integrity are broadly relevant across industries and work environments.