I’ve been reading and thinking a lot about trust these past few months. Marveling at what happens and is possible when it exists within oneself, within our personal relationships, at our jobs and in our communities. Trust is a powerful driver in our lives, but do we understand what trust truly is? Consider these definitions:

• Trust as a noun: The firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of someone or something.
• Trust as a verb: To believe in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of.

Or, as shared in context at the Blockchain conference I attended recently,

• Trust is the confident reliance on a person, organization, process, etc.

Confident reliance. I like it. It sums it up clearly and succinctly. It’s a question that can be asked and answered: Do I have a confident reliance on [enter the person, situation, process, group, or other]? If not, why not?

Reflecting on trust and its role in my work and our communities, got me thinking about a few amazing groups who are working together in different ways to achieve shared visions. I would say their ability to accomplish all they have is linked to their confident reliance.

Confident Reliance in Action

Over the past seven years, I have seen what happens when nonprofit and faith-based organizations trust in each other and work collectively to build one another’s strength and capacity, and that of the nonprofit sector as a whole. The shared values of The Inland Empire Community Collaborative (IECC) and their confidence in each other’s “reliability, truth, abilities (and capabilities)” has built strong personal and professional relationships where none existed before.  Comprised of more than 50 agencies, the IECC is now working together and achieving results in ways they didn’t even know were possible just a few years earlier.  Individuals and organizations that were previously students in one of the First 5 San Bernardino-funded Capacity Building Academies (designed and facilitated by our firm, Social Entrepreneurs, Inc.) are now delivering the capacity building academy curriculum to other groups in the Inland Empire.  All while they continue to serve the clients and communities through their own organizations.

This collective work is grounded in a shared language of sustainability and strategic, results-based action. It is however, the trust in themselves and each other that allows them to share so freely and generously their skills, knowledge and successes for the benefit of all. It is that same trust that helps them examine, work through, and resolve difficulties as they arise. When times became challenging or the path forward is uncertain, the trust among these individuals and organizations and their coaching team has created an environment for healthy discussion and comprehensive resolution.

Science Around Trust

Having been on the ground in this work from the beginning and seeing the “magic” first hand, I wondered what the science might be behind the results. Why this group “gelled” in this way at this time.  I also wanted to help their executive board understand and build on their success when I facilitate their retreat later this month. So, I set out to learn more. What I found was that neurochemicals played a part, as did creating and nurturing an environment that fostered trust.

According to Paul J. Zak in his Harvard Business Review article The Neuroscience of Trust

“Compared with people at low-trust companies, people at high-trust companies report: 74% less stress, 106% more energy at work, 50% higher productivity, 13% fewer sick days, 76% more engagement, 29% more satisfaction with their lives, 40% less burnout.”

Zak and his research colleagues were able to identify behaviors and practices that foster trust, each of which are part of the IECC’s evolution and practice today.

• Recognition builds trust, particularly when it comes from peers, follows goal achievement; and it is tangible, personal and public. Recognizing excellence inspires others and provides a forum for sharing what works.
• Having difficult but achievable goals creates what’s called challenge stress, a moderate level of stress which releases neurochemicals that increase focus and social connections. Team members’ brain activity coordinates behaviors and helps them work together as long as the challenge is attainable and there is a specific end point or “win”. (Note: challenge stress neurochemicals differ from those released as a result of chronic stress, as described in the Stress-Depression Connection article on WebMD.)
• Team/employee autonomy and discretion improves motivation, which emerges from being trusted to figure things out and have control over work; which has the added benefit of promoting innovation.
• Self-organizing and selecting tasks and projects that are interesting and rewarding, at the same time as being held accountable for results and contributions that matter, helps foster trust in one’s self and capabilities.
• Intentionally building social ties (trust) at work activates the brain network connected to oxytocin, resulting in improved performance (quantity and quality of work) and sense of personal well-being.
• Applying a whole-person focus, which includes assessing personal growth and having discussions about work-life integration, family, and ensuring time for recreation and reflection matter. Investing in the whole person has a powerful effect on engagement and retention.
• Asking for help engages everyone to reach goals and taps into our natural human impulse to cooperate with one another.

Zak’s research team also found that:

“Those working in high-trust companies enjoyed their jobs 60% more, were 70% more aligned with their companies’ purpose, and felt 66% closer to their colleagues. And a high-trust culture improves how people treat one another and themselves. Compared with employees at low-trust organizations, the high-trust folks had 11% more empathy for their workmates, depersonalized them 41% less often, and experienced 40% less burnout from their work. They felt a greater sense of accomplishment, as well—41% more.”

Zak’s findings pretty much sum up the IECC members’ experience; their “secret sauce” so to speak.

Showing Excellence in Trust

In recognition of the PyeongChang, South Korea 2018 Olympic Winter Games underway now, we are offering another breathtaking example of confident reliance.

Watch this stunning video of Vanessa James and Morgan Cipres as they compete in an international team figure skating competition in the 2016–17 season on behalf of France. https://youtu.be/xKkVETYgTfs They are part of France’s Olympic Team.

Their routine is a perfect example of how confident reliance promotes harmony, rhythm, and synchronicity, which can only be achieved through ultimate trust. Their movements were so effortless and graceful and truly showed how much they relied upon each other to be there, be present and fully engaged in the competition. The same can be true for our relationships today. When we put our full trust, a confident reliance in others, the outcome and subsequent rewards are quite similar. Nurture an environment that fosters trust and your team or organization will connect on a deeper level and problem solve more effortlessly. It may sound easy, but trust is much harder to show and sometimes harder to accept from others. What can you to do improve your confident reliance?