The trust equation

The issue of "trust" has come up several times in several meetings this past week.  I have met with a number of new leaders in transition who have talked about the need to "build trust" with their teams.  Again and again, I have offered advice by saying that building trust (or in some cases, restoring trust when a new leader takes over from an untrusted leader) is one of the most important aspects for a new leader - really, the same is true for old leaders as well.

In searching for information on "trust" these past couple of weeks, I came across a website that talked about a concept called the "Trust Equation".  The "Trust Equation" was conceived by Charles Green, who developed the concept in a book he co-wrote called The Trusted Advisor.  Trust (T) is a combination of four variables, credibility (C), reliability (R), intimacy (I), and self-orientation (S):

T = (C + R + I) / S

As you can see in the equation above, credibility, reliability, and intimacy all increase a person's trustworthiness, while self-interest reduces it (significantly so, based on the fact that is reduces the combined impact of the other three variables).  The four variables are fairly straightforward.

In my previous post (Trust), I mentioned a study by Jack Zenger and Joseph Folkman of over 87,000 different leaders which found that the three most important elements of trust were (1) positive relationships, (2) good judgement/expertise, and (3) consistency.  "Good judgement/expertise" is represented by the variable, Credibility (C), in the Trust Equation.  There is an ongoing debate about whether leaders should have both subject matter expertise and leadership/management expertise in their field (for a great discussion of this issue and more, see the excellent book, Range by David Epstein).  I believe (rather strongly) that leaders should have more than a basic understanding of the technical aspects of the work that their team performs.  Both the Zenger/Folkman study and the Trust Equation agree that credibility (a proxy for subject matter or technical expertise) is critically necessary for leaders to establish trust.

The Zenger/Folkman study's concept of "Consistency" is represented by the variable, Reliability (R) in the Trust Equation.  Here, leaders serve as role models, honor commitments, and keep their promises.  One of my mentors used to say, "I will never ask you to do something that I am not willing to do myself."  Most importantly, he "walked the talk" and followed through on that statement.  I specifically recall a time when we were short-staffed in our Pediatric Intensive Care Unit.  He not only carried his share of the clinical load, but he also ended up taking several additional weeks of service to protect the other members of our Division.  

The variable Intimacy (I) in the Trust Equation is similar to the key element of "Positive Relationships" in the Zenger/Folkman study.  Trusted leaders are the ones who are open and vulnerable to their own weaknesses or gaps - by doing so, they establish a psychologically safe environment where their teams can share their concerns.  When leaders outwardly show their own vulnerability, others on their teams will do so as well.  Leaders who generally care for their teams and get to know them on both a personal and professional level will also build trust.  Importantly, of the three key elements of trust identified in the Zenger/Folkman study, "Positive Relationships" was the most important.  For example, trust decreased by 17 percentage points when leaders were inconsistent.  However, when the "Positive Relationships" score was low, even if "Good judgement/Expertise" and "Consistency" scored high, trust fell by 33 percentage points!

The last variable in the Trust Equation, Self-orientation (S), has a negative impact on Trust.  Leaders who look out for their own self-interests are not very trustworthy.  In contrast, leaders who placed the needs of their own teams first and foremost above their own (see also, "Leaders Eat Last") are highly trusted.  Peter Drucker, the famous management guru, said, "The leaders who work most effectively, it seems to me, never say 'I.' And that's not because they have trained themselves not to say 'I.' They don't think 'I.' They think 'we'; they think 'team.' They understand their job to be to make the team function. They accept responsibility and don't sidestep it, but 'we' gets the credit.... This is what creates trust, what enables you to get the task done."

I will leave this discussion about trust with two final quotes, both from leaders whom I have learned a lot from during my career.  Both of these leaders had a lot to say about trust.  General Colin Powell, former Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Secretary of State said, "The essence of leadership is building bonds of trust in your organization."  Jack Welch, former CEO of General Electric said, "Leadership, very simply, is about two things: 1. Truth and trust,  2. Ceaselessly seeking the former, relentlessly building the latter."