In the past 24 hours I have listened to experts on Leadership, Markets, Demography, Geo-politics, War and History and they seem to all point to the importance of the value of trust.

If the lender no longer trusts the borrower, if the landlord no longer trusts the tenant, if the politician is no longer trustworthy then… the house of cards begins to fall.

It is possible that we are living right now in a moment of history when the major pillars of our world are crumbling due to the erosion of trust.

From this marco realization let’s bring it to the personal. Do you trust yourself? How secure is your trust account with those closest to you? At work, at home… in your community?

1) I know it sounds cliche but, Mahatma Gandhi’s “Be the change you want to see,” still rings true. Want to build a reputation of trustworthiness? Start with yourself. One dead simple way is to set a baseline of a habit or discipline that will build your personal private trust and then… follow through. Your personal trust liquidity will start to rise and eventually, over time, your flywheel of trust will gain almost perpetual momentum or said another way trust will become your core value, your brand. Another way to achieve the same goal is to stop one or two unseen chronic habits that are currently eroding your trustworthiness. An example might be “little white lies” or the cutting of corners that a part of your beliefs views as mirco-cheating.

2) How about your inner circle? Most of our close relationships have been eroded by the current divisive polarization within general society. It only makes sense if the global house of cards is falling due to acute trust issues, it will translate into our own personal relationships.

What can we do about this?

Seeing the problem is half of the solution. If you realize your inner circle is being negatively affected by outside influences simply recognize it, and counter it with more intentional actions. On Monday evening I got into my truck and drove to a spiritual men’s support group. I didn’t know the host and out of the 7 men I had only met one. This exercise was an intentional trust action. For those who are curious, I didn’t get kidnapped, brainwashed or fleeced…it was great, I loved it and as a result of my actions my inner circle of trust was strengthened.

3) What do we do with the shaking and the sifting of institutional trust? This one is hard. We have all globally just lived through possibly the most prosperous 75 years of international trade and the safe and secure flow of goods and services. This week I stood on my head and amazingly fixed our dishwasher, (for more tips on how to get your float value functioning check out YouTube). While this could be considered a reasonable home maintenance move, in the back of my mind was the thought, don’t break the plastic clips because the global supply chain is untrustworthy. Sub note, my crossbow is still in the shop waiting for parts ordered over a month ago… the elusive Vancouver Island Black Tail Deer bow season has come and gone, “sad face.” 🙁

I’m not sure how you and I can influence or shift the global trust crises other than possibly focusing on the first two applications: build up your own value by becoming even more trustworthy to yourself and intentionally step out and strengthen your mutual trust within your sphere of influence.

Invitation:

Once a month I’m hosting a Switchback Innovation TEAM ZOOM gathering. Currently we have leaders from 4 nations committed to openly discuss ideas, innovate, inspire, encourage and… intentionally trust each other through the process.

Want to join us?

1) Challenge yourself personally.

2)Take a chance and grow your local trust with others.

3) In your area of influence design opportunities for trust to multiply.

“Be the change you want to see”