Trust is Not a Soft Skill

What does it mean to be a trusted leader? If you don’t have the trust of the people you work with, how can you start to gain their trust? Today’s episode is filled with advice that will help you grow your career, become more successful, and improve your company as well. On this episode of the Digital Enterprise Society podcast, Thom welcomes speaker and author David Horsager for a conversation about developing and maintaining trust in the workplace. He shares the eight pillars of trust, how they relate to each other, and action items that you can take to start building greater trust today.    On today’s podcast, you will learn about: What is trust?  People do business with people they know, like, and trust.  Trust does not mean you like someone, it means you have confidence in your relationship with them.  Trust is not a soft skill, it is the core issue of all relationships Trust cost is reflected in the effort and time we put into everything we do.    The eight pillars of trust Each pillar is essential and each pillar is interrelated to the others. All eight pillars must be exercised in order for any one of them to be effective.  The eight pillars of trust include clarity, compassion, character, competency, commitment, connection, contribution, and consistency.    How to build better connections  Genuine gratitude is the greatest connector between individuals.  Transparency is not the same as trust, but both are essential in building relationships.  Increased transparency about mistakes will increase our connections.    How to effectively demonstrate the pillars of trust  Competency is apparent in leaders who are well-read- push yourself to read books rather than waste time on irrelevant digital content.  Contribution means that you do the work that you are expected to do.  Commitment breeds commitment and is essential to building trust.  Trust is rebuilt only by making and keeping new commitments.  Identify what you are doing well as well as which pillars you need to focus on building up.   Break down the how until you have a list of action items that you can apply today.      Trusted Leader: 8 Pillars That Drive Results by David Horsager   Do you have an example of extraordinary efforts or innovation during these unprecedented times? We would love to hear your story and possibly interview you for an upcoming episode. Please reach out to us at www.DigitalEnterpriseSociety.org.