The best way to find out if you can trust somebody is to trust them

Trust is at the heart of every relationship in life, personal and professional.

How do we build trust?

Sometimes we need to take a lot of time and patience to build trust, we analyse, assess, look for evidence and proof points.

Sometimes, though, perhaps Hemingway’s quote can be our anchor.

The best way to find out if you can trust somebody is to trust them

So, before giving some thoughts and examples of choosing to trust, let me first recognise that proof points, analysis, evidence, time are all absolutely valid in building and maintaining trust.

Where do I sit in both a personal space and also from my leadership experience? I believe that there is always a balance between choosing to trust and building trust empirically.

There are no absolutes in life. No absolute proof, no absolute guarantees, so there is always an element of choosing to trust.

In terms of the speed of building trust though, choosing to trust someone is absolutely the way to find out if you can trust them, as well as being the fastest way to find out. It can feel risky, as you may find out you can’t trust them. This can mean that you feel at risk as you choose to trust. You can…