Relationships are based on trust. Trust builds over time. This is why it’s so important to do things that build trust before onboarding, during your first 100-days, and on an ongoing basis. This piece, part III of the Trust Trilogy looks at building trust on an ongoing basis.
During your first 100-days, you are under the micro-scope and, if you read the middle piece of this trilogy, you are being especially sure to be consistently trustworthy so you can build a track record with your new colleagues.
Once you’ve earned that trust, you must keep it. We all know how fragile trust is – takes a long time to build and a second to destroy… It’s important not to blow that trust. Important, but not sufficient.
Trust can also be eroded through neglect. It’s not good enough not to do anything to destroy trust, you must continue to do things to feed and water that trust. This is really just common sense. If you only contact people when you need something from them, they’ll start dreading your contact. So, keep in touch with people. Keep them informed about what you’re doing – especially things impact them. Keep informed about what’s important to them. The only viable long-term relationships are mutually beneficial. So do things that benefit others.
