I was recently invited by Working Mother Media to do a workshop on ‘Building Trust in business, relationships & life’.

Asked to define trust we find ourselves groping for answers, Some answers I get are : “it’s a feeling”, “I can’t describe it”.

But most important we don’t know how to create trust or how to build trust in circumstances on the ruins of trust already betrayed.

Trust is not merely reliability, predictability or what is sometimes understood as trustworthiness. It is in the relationship within which the trust is based and which trust creates.

Trust is a relationship of reliance. A trusted party is presumed to seek to fulfill policies, ethical codes, law and their previous promises.

This is one thing common to individual, team, organization…if removed will destroy thriving economies…

The great advantage of trust culture is the ability to appreciate other people’s circumstances and points of view. There is a lot of talk around diversity but much of these discussions surround issues of fairness and affirmative actions.

These are important issues but they overlook the good that comes from people expressing their values and passions, which lead to fruitful discussions and emergence of shared willingness to explore new possibilities.

In business customer remains the object of the marketplace. Instead become familiar with the practices of customers and establish a relationship of trust. Not dependence.

Such environment of trust and attention makes innovation possible, and it is innovation that wins the day.