To What Extent Trust Is Important for the Success of Organisations?

We all analyse the factor of success in organizations. We have our own approaches for analysis of the success factor. But, we seldom use the trust perspective to analyse the success of organizations. This is strange considering the fact that some organizations thrive on trust, while others fall due to distrust. A big organisation falls because of lack of trust, a small team in an organisation succeeds because of trust.

   Analysing the psychological factors for trust, and distrust in organizations with linkages to targets/goals of organisation is very important. This will help in knowing whether an organisation is on the path of success, or failure. The community-based, or membership-based organizations evoke more trsut.The chances of success here is more than than centralized, or hierarchal organizations, which are built on the company principles. The nature, or structure of an organisation, with linkages to the factor of trust needs to be explored in depth.

Can we have a measurement index which can show how much trust is important for success of an organisation? Can we evaluate our performance, based on this? Can we organize trust-based workshops/seminars, keeping into account this measurement index? Organisational dynamics must address these issues.

Trust-Building Skills Most Important for an Entrepreneur

   Go through the link http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/234453,and you will find good tips to build up trust,if you are an entrepreneur.I find the tip related to creating good content very useful.If you are creative,then you can create good content,which catches eye,It can boost your sales,as people today want good content from all angles,related to a product.I find this art of creating good content lacking.People in pursuit of mechanical business goals,forget the need to have strong on-line content.

   I find the tip related to nurturing relationships with customers is equally important,besides the business logic.I will prefer a salesman who is more eager to know about me,is honest and doesn't put forth his agenda with a sole motive of profit.Now,this requires a more humane approach.A fine balance of human and business skills can help you build up bonds of trust.

   As we move towards a new era of entrepreneurship,this  demands trust-building skills for success.So,besides innovative business idea,you need to be  well trained up in building up trust.If you have this mindset,then you can well succeed in your venture.

See Guest Column;Trust Is Gold And To be Trusted is Greater than Being Loved.

                           

,Mr Seshadri Satyanarayan has a long distinguished career in Journalism,and Public Relations.He has worked at senior levels in PTI,Tribune and other important national dailies. Currently,he is the Consulting Editor of Afro-Asian Business Chronicle.In his Guest Column,Mr Satyanarayanan highlights the importance of trust, equating it with 'Gold'.He further says that trust deficiency often leads to collapse of relationship,be it friendship or organisation.He can be contacted at satyan02@gmail.com

                        

Trust is one of the most important components in life. Trust deficiency often leads to collapse of relationship, be it friendship or organization.  Lack of trust and sudden trust deficit among board of directors have seen several companies, founded on strong friendship of the promoters, crumbling or the directors parting ways.  Therefore, it is no secret that mutual trust is of paramount importance.  Sometimes trust you enjoy among your fellow members play a big role in bringing out the best in you.

This reminds me of a wrestling bout in the just-concluded Commonwealth Games, where in one of the contest for Gold medal, there was a local wrestler belonging to Scotland and his rival was from Sri Lanka. In this high-scoring bout, the Scotland wrestler suffered a ligament injury during the bout. At that point in time he was way ahead of the Sri Lankan. The injury was quite severe and the athlete wanted to quit.


Even as the medical staff was attending to the athlete, the wrestler writhing in pain repeatedly waved towards his coach to call off the match.  But the trust the coach had in the abilities of the wrestler was so strong that he kept on encouraging him and did not allow him to quit. The coach made him to hit the ring once again with a bandage wrapped around his thigh and knee area.  As the Scotland wrestler was limping during the bout, the Sri Lankan wrestler took advantage of the situation by attacking and grabbing his injured leg.  The Scotland wrestler was repeatedly encouraged by his coach, who shouted “you can do it” and ‘You have it in you”.  Thanks to the repeated prodding from he overcame his pain to win the closely fought match to take the Gold Medal.

To cut short the moral of this anecdote is that the trust the Coach had in the abilities of the wrestler resulted in bringing out the best out of him even as the latter wanted to give up. So, the Scotland wrestler would have definitely realized after the bout that “to be trusted is a greater compliment than winning the Gold medal in front of the

To be trusted is a greater compliment than being loved

Are We Trusting Technology More Than Ourself ?

                           

It appears that we are slowly trusting technology more as an effective tool to trust human beings. We are driven by our passion for technology, which makes us believe that we can form good bonds with people. In this pursuit, we don’t trust ourself to act as a bridge in forming human bonds. As a result, technology is becoming dominant over our lives, and we are becoming its slave. We feel restless when we don’t see mobile phone in our hand. That restlessness is not so much evident when our near and dear ones are not with us. We tend to trust that electronic communication will help us maintain strong contacts with them. We don’t feel the necessary urge to see them in front of us. We also don’t make efforts to visit them. We feel that it will be merely a wastage of time. We think that why not utilize the limited time by surfing  on the social networking sites?

The first thing we search for religiously in the morning, is our mobile phone, prayers come after that, forget the people who are with us. Social networking sites, and other applications are becoming our obsession.  When we travel, we don’t make efforts to talk to the people, and develop   bonds. Instead, we depend on technology to build up contacts with others. We are oblivious of our immediate environment, where we see other people themselves busy with their mobile phone. So, why should we take any initiative in making efforts to engage in conversations? The same thing is visible in parties, conferences, events, etc where many people tend to withdraw from making conversations on the pretext that they are busy with their phones. This lazy approach in depending on technology does not help in building up strong heart-to-heart bonds. We tend to believe that why make unnecessary efforts in intermingling with people of different temperaments, so we take  recourse to technology to hide our inabilities to accept different kinds of people. As a result, we  are not able to nurture our relationships. A layer of superficiality is clearly visible, which makes others also realise that through electronic communication, we are just maintaining formality in our relationship.

At work-place, even for internal communication, we depend on electronic form, instead of making efforts to visit our colleagues. In conflicting situations, this approach  doesn’t resolve the issues, as our egos destroy the chance of conflict resolution as  we avoid making face-to-face conversation with a strong desire for genuine dialogue. For an  organisation’s  external communication, we have a strong feeling that electronic communication will  be sufficient to achieve our purpose. But, we are mistaken. I feel personal visits are important in many of the cases to enhance an organisations’s profile, or achieve the project targets. Electronic communication can be successful here only if the self-motivated human efforts are made in taking pains to visit people.

The politicians are making these days frenetic efforts to utilise electronic communication to build up their popularity amongst the people. They don’t make efforts to personally visit the people in their constitutency, and form one-to-one contact. As a result, I feel, the trust level of the people in the politicians does not nurture. Electronic communication can only be a momentary way to win over the hearts of the people. The long-term benefits can be maintained only if the politicians show their sincerity in making visits, and follow up with the people. The people today are smart to understand the limits of electronic communication, as it can be used  to create a situation, which at the ground-level does not exist.

I think the tendency to trust on technology, and not in us is limiting the growth of our personalities. I feel   our full potentialities can emerge only if  we speak, express and maintain face-to-face contacts through our inner urge to indulge in sincere heart-to –heart dialogue. Our presence itself can create an  effective aura which can attract people around us, so that ever-lasting relationships are built upon which can give a real joy in life. Technology can hide our inabilities, biases in personality etc, which can only hamper our personal growth, as a result of which we are not able to learn, and evolve. If we continue to be dictated by technology, then we will merely become  mechanical robots. So, let us develop the right  wisdom to use technology judiciously.

  

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Increasing Use of Trust As A Communications Medium

When Narendra Modi was actively campaigning for BJP, he constantly used the word  ‘Trust’  to strike a popular chord in the people’s psyche. He exhorted the voters to trust him, and give him a chance. A strong call for trust, from the voters, appeared to evoke heart-filled sentiments in the people. Similarly, Arvind Kejriwal, AAP leader at one point of time repeatedly asked the middle class and youth  to have trust in AAP’s ability to provide a clean government devoid of corruption. I think politicians are increasingly using the word ‘trust’ to win public sympathy. In most of the cases, their often use of the word ‘trust’ is an emotional ploy in their pursuit of power.

The corporates and business houses  too now feel that they have to carve their clean image by using  the word ‘trust’ in their communication strategies. The speeches of their business heads are laced with the word ‘trust’. When you see the advertisements today, you will feel that copy-writers increasingly use the word ‘trust ’so that people buy the products. Today, the consumer is not a fool. I don’t think that catchy advertising slogans with dominant use of word ‘trust’ will change a consumer’s perception.

At the level of society, we see  the more use of word ‘trust’ in verbal communication. In family, the husband and wife constantly ask each other to trust, so that their relationship becomes strong. A desperate communication medium of trust is used to remove marital discord. The parent-child relationship is witnessing a big upheaval. Values are changing, and parents who are more attached to old legacy, find difficult to adjust to the changing times. In this scenario, the parents and children more often use the word ‘trust in their verbal communication, when things go awry. Both parents and children try to convince each other that they have deep trust amongst them.

The organizations, or sectors, today when there is trust-deficit all around, portray themselves as trust-worthy to build up their image. Their communication strategies are geared towards this, and often this becomes a PR exercise. The corporates, in the grab of Corporate Social Responsibility, are using CSR as medium to show their deep trust in the community welfare. The NGOs, cooperatives and  civil-society organizations, which are people-based, naturally use trust as a communication medium to win popular support.

Increasing use of ‘trust’ as a  medium of communication  in all walks of life clearly indicates that we realize the importance of trust. We have  strong conviction   that without trust, systems will collapse, and social norms wither away. But, how to assess the genuineness of trust claims from all quarters? I think trust-based surveys are very important to assess the impact of ‘trust’ as a communications tool. These surveys should touch all the areas of polity, society and economy. Trust-based surveys with defined parameters in organizations/sectors will also show interesting results. Definite and clear-cut strategies would then emerge which would help in solving the problem of distrust everywhere.

Evaluate Trustworthiness of Candidates Before Recruiting

Do you want the most trusted candidates in your company? Do you want people who can be trusted in your organisation for a longer period? Do you want people who have strong ethical values in your company? I think when trust-deficit is increasing in organizations, it is a big challenge for companies and organizations to find trust-worthy people. The success of modern organizations is built upon people whom you can trust to deliver the goods.

While recruiting people, we need to give due focus on gauging the trustworthiness of candidates. The qualifications, experience and professional background are no doubt important. But, they are geared towards efficiency, and effectiveness, which do not work beyond a point. In the times of crisis, trustworthy people will give you hope. You will feel that there are committed folks around you, who will not let you down. Trustworthy people, may not be that efficient, as compared to those who are professionally more capable, but are driven by mere passion for money. However, these  group of people will evoke more confidence, then those who will not miss any opportunity to leave the company for greener pastures.

Trustworthy people in organizations are driven by mission in their life. not merely short-time profit-making objective. The missionary zeal of such people can take organisations to new heights. So, it will be a big challenge for you to find such people.

I think we need to develop a scientific approach to find people who can be trusted while recruiting them. A trust-based test  based on effective questionnaire should be devised, which can test the trustworthiness of candidates. Modern statistical  tools must be used to formulate such test. The measurement of this must be done through a software, which can give measurable outputs. Then, only we can evaluate  trustworthiness of the candidates. I think trust-based test, will definitely be useful in gauging the aptitude, and behaviour of the candidates when they start working.

Organisational dynamics today is built upon trust, which is so difficult to find in the volatile times today. The stark reality is that we need to think, and act differently. So, when next time you are hiring people, try your best to gauge the trustworthiness of the candidates.  

Three Reasons Why My Blog on Trust Makes Me Happy?

 Trust has its own beauty. I didn’t know about it when I started the blog. But, slowly when I started writing on it, I came to understand its real depth. There are three reasons why  my blog makes me happy;

1] I have come to understand that trust has a multi-dimensional character. There are so many aspects of life, I need to explore. They are related to individual, society,  organisation, sector, politics, economy, etc. Whenever I analyse   any development, the trust perspective comes into my mind. I feel happy that I have created something, in the form a blog which has deep relevance.

2] Now, I feel the practical impact of the blog in my own life, which makes me happy.  As my day  begins, I feel I could generate trust everywhere. When I go to work, I try my best to build up a trust-worthy relationship with all. In my family life, the effect of my blog is seen all the time. I try hard to build up an atmosphere of mutual trust so that we all feel happy in the family. The blog has been a real catalyst in my personal transformation.

3] The blog has given me a new mission in life. When we have a mission, then we feel happy. Every minute of our life makes us realize that we have been born with some purpose. Through my blog, I have understood, that my mission is to create awareness for building up trust at all levels so that trust deficit does not threaten our social fabric. I see myself as a change-agent in this regard. An attempt to find solutions through my writings makes me happy..  

Is Unsolicited Advice Good For Organisational Trust?

. It happens to all of us. At the work-place, when we are in a difficult situation, our stress level increases. We feel so tense, and we don’t know what to do? Our enthusiasm wanes, and we feel the need of someone who can help us. Due to our ego levels, we don’t feel the need to seek anyone’s advice. An office colleague who gives us unsolicited advice gives us relief. But, we don’t know to what extent we should trust this unsolicited advice?

People who give unsolicited advice in organizations, do so due to following reasons;

• Genuine concern for the growth of the employees, ir-respective of hierarchy positions. So, trustworthiness of this category of people is more. They evoke trust from people to whom they give unsolicited advice.
•  People at higher hierarchy levels feel that they are more powerful. They are status conscious, so they feel that giving unsolicited advice is their natural right.

        

At the work-place ,unsolicited advice may be primarily related to your work, but, in some cases, unsolicited advice may be related to  your behavior, attitude, personal life, personal relationships, etc. When someone gives you unsolicited advice, you should;

•  Accept it with an open mind. Say ‘thank you’ to your superior, or even a person who is lower to your rank.
•  If the advice is related to your style of functioning, work deficiencies, etc , then you should explore the matter by asking clarifications from the person giving unsolicited advice. Listen patiently, without any ego, and with an attitude to learn.
• Develop your wisdom in such a way that you  are able to assess the genuineness of the advice. In some cases, genuine unsolicited advice stems from a since desire of a person who wants you to explore your potentialities fully. See the body language of the person who is giving   unsolicited advice, and judge the nature of the advice through your eye-contacts.
•  Judge the merit of the advice by deeply introspecting your work contribution, and assessing your weaknesses, if any. We generally think that we are flawless in our work, and others are inferior.
• Judge the merit of the advice based on track-record of the person who is giving the advice. Does he have a credible reputation? Has he been the change-maker in the organisation? For how much time do you know the person? What is your comfort level with that person? If the person doesn’t have any reputation, his unsolicited advice should not be taken seriously.

         

Unsolicited genuine   as well as sincere advice, given to an employee helps build up organizational trust in following ways;

•       It helps in removing unnecessary ego, and paves the way for genuine dialogue.
•       It helps in de-bureaucratising organizational structure, and brings in openness.
•     It helps in building  up trust between two people, which extends beyond organizational boundaries.
•    It motivates the person who is receiving the advice, to himself seek further advice, which ultimately helps in building up his personality. Over a period of time, he will be  a better performer, and self-reliant to find solutions himself. He will implement the advice in a best spirit.

        Unsolicited advice, if given from a sense of arrogance, or with a  false sense of power s harmful in following ways;

•   The receiver simply listens to the advice. He becomes a passive listener. He does not implement the advice. He is smart enough to understand that the person giving unsolicited advice is not genuine in intentions. This destroys the trust between two persons.
•   The receiver feels that the person giving unsolicited advice is forcing his views on other person. This again destroys the chances of emergence of trust in a  natural way.

  I am not an advocate of giving unsolicited advice in organizations. But, tendency to give unsolicited advice  is more related to human psychology, which can  not be curbed. It is a reality in today’s organizations, where tackling relationship management issues have become very complex. My intention through this post is to merely highlight the pros and cons of this issue, so that a clear picture emerges. 

Six Reasons Why Eldeman Trust Barometer Is Important for India

Eldeman Trust Barometer is eagerly awaited every year. As the issues of trust gain importance, this Barometer is indeed a wake-up call for all the institutions in the country to introspect where they are positioned as far as trust level is concerned. I hereby highlight seven reasons why Trust Barometer is important for India;

1] Business has emerged as the most trusted institution in India. This is surprising considering the fact that economy is in dump, and the markets are down. I think the trust in business has gone up simply because feel that business can give them opportunities for self-employment. The  entrepreneurial culture is growing up fast in the country, which is indicator of people’s trust in their abilities to do business. The business can maintain this high level of trust by generating more jobs through community-centric focus, due to paradigm shift in CSR  recently.  It has become mandatory  for businesses to invest in CSR activities. The  trust results also show that people in other countries don’t have trust. in Indian business units situated there. There is a  distinct  dichotomy in trust here, and it will be a big challenges for Indian business houses to win trust abroad. I think the low trust level in other countries is a handicap here , which has  an impact on image of Indian business abroad.

2] NGOs recording a rise in trust level is a welcome development. It shows that peope are  expecting NGO’s to raise the socio-political issues, so that it puts pressure on the government. Anna Hazare  movement presented a unique model of building up trust. This has given rise to more NGOs adopting a pro-active stance in mobilizing opinion on issues of national concern.

3] The trust level in government has come down, which is a worrisome trend.I think the rise in NGOs trust level is playing a major role here, as peoples’ trust in government has come down because NGOs are exposing weaknesses in the government system here. Surprisingly, the rise in trust level of government official/regulator shows that steps for increasing regulation are gaining more legitimacy due to rise in the corruption level. This does not mean that trust level in  general bureaucracy is rising, may be the trust in solely regulatory officials is high. The results show that only 25 % feel that government officials do the right things. This shows growing distrust level in the government. A cloud of suspicion seems to have come up in people’s minds regarding the actions of government officials, and this is a bad signal for governance in the country.

4] The trust in   media has generally  come down. I think the main reason for this is that people are not fully convinced that media has an un-biased approach. The political and business interests of media remain uppermost on people’s mind. However, trust in traditional media remains high, which is a welcome indicator. I think people have a strong emotional bondage with the traditional media. It Is symbolic of India’s rich  cultural heritage in which traditional media has an important role to play. Social media is still evolving, and has yet to find full legitimacy. With growing social media, traditional media faces a big challenge to maintain its high trust level. Much will  depend on its ability to win people’s credibility through a professional approach in highlighting people’s issues, rather than focusing on elite political class.

5] It is good to know that in individual  category,  and experts are trusted most. I think this category thrives on high degree of professionalism, without biases. It also shows that well-educated brains don’t get their minds corrupted by external influences. The companies and organizations must nurture these think-tanks, which will increase their level of trust.

6] I think the Eldeman Trust Barometer must try to involve other institutions in trust survey. The glaring omissions here are police, judiciary, and politicians. These three institutions are the foundations of trust in our country. The nature of trust is fragile for all these institutions. So, including them in annual trust survey results, will be important in assessing the vibrancy of Indian democracy. While trust deficit in case of politicians is increasing, police and judiciary too are quite vulnerable on this front. Trust in police is low because it is considered a part of State machinery. Similarly, the trust level in judiciary’s independence is low, as the courts today have to increasingly interfere in those cases which could have been resolved by the executive and legislature. The trust survey should also include cooperatives, which are democratic-membership based organizations. They have won the trust of the communities in which they are embedded, the success story of Amul is quite notable here. The cooperatives are not merely economic organizations, but also have a social mission, so the trust quotient is high here.       

See Guest Column on Trust as Foundation of Society; An Economic Perspective

                                               GUEST COLUMN BY

                                               

                                               Dr Anshuman,Professor and Head,Economics

                                               Petroleum University,Dehradun

Trust has been the foundation of every society in all civilizations in all times. Whenever there  has been deficit in trust, it has led to catastrophic effects on the people, societies and countries. All wars, riots, civil wars, etc. are the manifestations of the trust- deficit.In a simple society, the daily activities were run on the basis of trust without any modern institution. People used to keep their money with other respected members of the community on the basis of trust without ay legal agreement. Many business activities were held without any written contract.

With  the economic development , many institutions have sprung up to enforce the contracts , which earlier were performed by trust. However, if one attempts to analyze  the cases of breach of contracts in modern time and earlier time , one would find that cases  of breach of contract are   more in modern society than earlier time in absolute term as well as  proportion of total contracts. Its testimony is modern judiciary flooding with cases of breach of contract by one of the parties in the agreement. It proves that the trust has eroded in the society in general.

 Today, every body is interested in his own advancement with no consideration of others. Though the Economics law propounded by Adam Smith also advocates this philosophy, it has its own flaws. Adam Smith suggested that if each member of the society is advancing its own interest, in doing so, he is also advancing the interest of the society as a whole. However, this law has proved wrong time and again. The recent Sub-prime crisis of the US has again manifested this. The mortgage originators, investment bankers and other players involved in the financial sector worked for maximizing their own profits at the cost of society at large. However, the end result has been the enormous cost inflicted not only on the whole US economy but also on the whole world economy. It  eroded again the trust of Americans in its financial sector and of countries in American economy. It has taken many years to restore this trust again in the American financial sector. Still it is not fully restored, which is evident by weak recovery sign in the economy.                                               

See First Guest Column on Trust; An Indian Leadership Perspective from IIRD

                                                                                   

                    GUEST COLUMN ON TRUST

  In  the First Guest  Column  Dr L.C.Sharma, Director, Institute For Integrated Rural Development, Shimla [http://www.iirdshimla.org/,  comes up  with frank, forthright and honest views on multi-demensional questions related to Trust, Dr Sharma,Director, IIRD can be contacted at director@iirdshimla.org

The cosmological phenomenon interprets that the kind of vibrations we emit from our mind either in ideas or in feelings, those respond back to us with their multiple effects. If we emit positive, rational and trustful vibrations, we get the trust with multiple effects and vice-versa. Here the intensity of the vibrations in shape of will at the transmitter end and matching wavelength  at the the receiver end are two crucial factors.  In the corporate world trust is more or less the regulated delegations of responsibilities within defined limits. This is regulated trust based on supervision. Can we imagine a person working sincerely without any supervision and consistently striving for achieving the organisational goals without even being caring for rewards or appreciations? When this process begins; the process of trust building starts.  But in today’s world, it is hard to find out the people who do not require supervision. The concept of supervision starts from the feeling of distrust. 

 Trust cannot be unilateral as it has multi-dimensions viz. mental evolution of the trusting person, the nature & worthiness of the person to be trusted, external factors like circumstances & environment, limits or extent of trust, etc.The ever increasing self-centric nature of people has created trust – deficit in all walks of life. Parents are losing trust on their children; employers are losing trust on the employees; the public is losing the trust in the government; and many a times husband and wife are losing trust in each other. This has happened majorly due to the absence of thrust on character building process within the individual.

 No organisation can sustain if weakening in terms of trust on the management, employees, clients and other stakeholders. The relationship among all these is very delicate and crucial. But the trust in an organisational perspective is always calculated and within defined limits. Trust building amongst the employees and stakeholders is very important. Employees and stakeholders can take the organisation to the heights and also bring it down to the bottom. If employees lose trust on the management, they will simply become unproductive which finally paves the passage for their discontinuation. If the management loses trust in the employees, it tries to find the exclusion path. If stakeholders lose trust, this hampers the growth of the organisation drastically and contracts the horizon of the organisation.

As per our experiences in IIRD, we have noticed that as long as any employee trusts himself / herself, the association continuous and the moment one loses trust on one’s capacity in given role, the sufficient ground gets created automatically for departure. Without introspection, people start justifying themselves. There must be the lack of trust somewhere perhaps otherwise the people should have come up with the true feelings, introspection, request for getting mentoring support, capacity building, nurturing etc. This normally happens when people don’t get aligned with the organisational spirit and feel being alienated. We could not find even a single person approaching the management with the proposal to sacrifice part of the compensation because of non-achievement of defined targets when the management is ready to incentivise for good performance. The people having faith on themselves, not only contributed meaningfully to the organisation; but got multiple elevations within shortest time period also. 

This is the major challenge with every organisation to find the people of strong character & trustworthy. In fact, people first lose trust on themselves to have the courage to convert the environment conducive to them. Non-competence and non-compliance amongst employees are two major challenges nowadays.In order to get rid of the employees losing trust in themselves and thereby losing trust in the organisation, there is need of continuous mentoring and nurturing the people down the line. The routine workload sometimes causes neglect in mentoring. And the recruitment process sometimes brings untrustworthy people inside which causes multiple problems. The major challenges are to bring right people within the organisation and mentor them continuously.

: Social trust is very important for a vibrant democracy. The trust in social set up may help in identifying and selecting right people for giving leadership to the nation. People should have trust in the representative democracy and the representatives should also care sensitively for the aspirations of the people. Unfortunately in the party politics system, the representatives represent their political ethos rather than the aspirations of the electorates. No representative has been found taking ownership with accountability for the overall development of his / her constituency.

Trust is extremely important in relationships as every relation remain dry and formal without trust. The distrust in relationship sometimes diminishes the whole life of the people. Hence trust has always to be regarded as the pillar of relationships.Spirituality is the only means for creating culture of trust. India being the Guru of spirituality for the entire world since the time immemorial is the ideal nation to revive and promote culture of trust. The true spiritual person always cares for others selflessly recognising the spark of spirit in every one.

Trust in education is very very important. The students should have trust in what they are studying apart from the trust between teacher & students. More the trust between the teacher and the students, more the receptability amongst the students will be.The professional approach to be adopted in the life should start from creating faith in ourselves with positiveness, rational self analysis and benevolence. Selfless service to others gives internal strength. The fragrance of roses comes only from the hands which distribute roses. Understanding the real essence of Bhagvadgita, the philosophy of life beyond all religions, can also be helpful.
  

See my comment on Charles H.Green’s Blog on Trust;Indian Implications

See my comment on   blog of Charles H.Green,CEO of Trusted Advisors;.

http://trustedadvisor.com/trustmatters/building-trust-based-organization-part-ii

Creating trust-based organisations is a big challenge for the CEOs of the organisations today.I liked the article for its fresh insights.I have advocated for cooperatives  as effective trust-based organisations in my comment to Charles' blog,simply because cooperatives because of their value-orientation can play an important role in building up trust.

Trust-based organisations are key to organisational success today.Organisational dynamics must take this factor seriously.The organisational management must give trust it due place in its strategic priorities.

The Indian organisational scenario today demands building up trust-based organisations due to following reasons;

1] Organisations in India are increasingly facing the problem of distrust,and this is more a reflection of trust-deficit in all walks of life.

2] The leadership in the organisations has to shed bureaucratic approach in tackling the issues,and for this creating an atmosphere for equal participation is important,through trust.

3] The Indian organisations must give due emphasis to values in their business ethics,as the traditional Indian society respects values,as a part of India's cultural heritage.I think the importance of values has not been given due recognition in building up a culture of trust.. 

Can We Build Up Team Without Trust?

Please see my comment in a good write-up on trust in the following link,and author's response.

http://empoweredbypierce.com/no-trust-no-team

    I find organisations lack team-spirit because trust is absent.But,what needs to be done?I recommend following;

1]  Every person in an organisation should learn to respect other.

2] Team is built when people identify with a common goal.Organisations must help people identify that common goal.
3] Team leaders must generate trust by setting an example.They have to become role models.

4] Values-based training based on organisation's thrust areas should be given emphasis.Values must blend well with organisations'thrust areas

5] Trust is built when people are emotionally attached with each other,which helps in building team-spirit.Organisations have a big challenge here.

Five Reasons Why 2014 Edelman Trust Survey Barometer Is Important For Indonesia

Please go through an interesting link below,on Edelman trust survey results in Indonesia.That business evokes more trust,than politics is a definite paradigm shift.A survey conducted by Edelman last year found that 82% of respondents trusted business institutions,which was higher than trust in the media[78%],NGOs [73%] and the government[53%]
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/02/06/indonesians-trust-business-more-government.html
  I find five reasons why Edelman trust survey in Indonesia are important;
1]  Governance in business institutions is an important factor of trust-building.If there is good governance,then trust will follow naturally.For good governance,creating transparent systems is important
2] Political systems do not necessarily build up trust,which others can follow.Instead if business is sound,then trust will emerge,which can be a trend-setter.
3] Building up ethical business frameworks may be more convenient than strengthening ethics in political systems.Simply because there is strong realisation that businesses can flourish only if they are built on strong ethics.
4] The public trust can be built upon good business,not necessarily clean politics.So,people can have more confidence in business for country's socio-economic transformation.
5] Business leaders can be good trust-builders,than politicians,if they take right decisions,and develop a compassionate attitude towards the work-force.
       I will wait for more similar type of results in other countries,then only a definite pattern can be seen.But.the results are an eye-opener.In the times of economic melt-down,when trust disappeared from businesses,there is one country at least,which can show different results.
                

Discover the Joy of Trust In Relationships

                                

Trust is a treasure of our daily life. However, we do not understand its true value. It is generally seen that trust in our daily lives is disappearing fast. Why have we become so suspicious that we can  not enter into meaningful relationships with each other? Why can we not behave as normal human beings? After all when we were born as human beings the first lesson we learnt was that we should trust each other. However, as our lives progressed slowly, trust began to diminish. Our childhood innocence gave way to calculations in which there was no place for trust. Today, there appears to be huge trust deficit in all walks of  life. Relationships is an area which has come under the cloud of mistrust in an increasing manner.

Trust in each other gives strength and vitality to our relationships .It gives us more happiness, which is priceless. It gives joy all around, and life appears to be brighter and brighter. Its fragrance spreads far and wide. Trust keeps us in a positive mental framework. When you trust each other you feel so confident. You feel so safe, and secure. The feeling of believing others is electrifying. It not only provides sense of security but provides us new zeal to fight the vagaries of life. We develop a strong life-force, as a result of which we muster up courage to face the daily challenges.

Trusting each other gives us a sense of deep bonding. It signifies that we are united to fight the battles ahead. Trust is synonymous for warmth in our relationships. With so many advantages of trusting each other how do we feel when germs of mistrust appear? Life appears to be devoid of colour, and it lacks spontaneity. We behave with each other mechanically like robots. We constantly live with fear and tensions We live in our shells and we are unable to share with each other. We live in a suppressed condition, which inhibits the growth of our personality. As a result, we are not able to contribute to the betterment of our society. We are not able to create a conducive atmosphere where there is transparency all around.

A society whose foundation is built upon trust is progressive and dynamic. Lack of trust signifies decay in the society. A lot of conscious efforts has to be made in this direction. We need to nurture our relationships with care. We should not let our ego destroy our relationships. This requires constant efforts to know each other fully. The more we  try  to explore each other, the more we can handle each others’ contradictions well. In the process , more trust we will be able to generate..

 Most of the problems in relationships occur because because we can not handle each others’ contradictions well. It is very strange that we ourself do not want to open up.  We   are not able to overcome our mental blocks.  As a result, we tend to look others with doubt. We live in our own world of likes and dislikes, as we are not able to create a right balance. No doubt, people tend to view us with suspicion. If we are balanced in our thoughts and actions then people will trust us .For this we must shed the habit of finding fault with others, even on a slight pretext. Instead, we should make others aware of their positive traits and strengths. This will enhance our credibility, which will lead to building up trust.

For building up trust, we must not indulge in unhealthy competition by trying to outwit each other. Instead we should master the art of rejoicing in the happiness of others. Good performance of others should spur us to act in a positive manner. Being jealous and competitive will be of no use as it will lead to destroying trust. No one is perfect in today’s era. If there would have been perfection all around, then there would have been no mistrust.

We must build up trust against the background of limitations in our personalities. Mistrust is itself a reflection of our inadequacies and imperfections in handling our relationships with finesse. After all reform begins at  home. Let us reform ourself by giving time to our relationships and thinking of ways to strengthen them. Trust will then follow naturally

Can You Build Up Brand through Your Content based on trust?

    Trust has many dimensions. When I started this blog,I didn't know that I could explore a field,which is so rich.Please go through the following link on content marketing through building up trust;;
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/daniel-newman/build-trust-in-content-marketing_b_4679597.html
             I like the write-up,because of following reasons;
1]  Creating good content is easy,but marketing  is so difficult.So,you need to build up your own brand to succeed.There is no short-cut.

 2] The write up in the link talks of how to market your content by building up trust.The author gives first-hand tips,which look so real.

3[ Trust with the consumers needs to be nurtured.Then,only it can have an ever-lasting value.This applies to the content too.Content has to sell in the market. Then only brand can be created.

4] Audience engagement is so important for building up brand through quality content.This can come only if you generate trust.

                 So,build up trust through your content.Then only you can reap the fruits of success.  
          

    

Trust Erosion In the Case of AAP

Chetan Bhagat in his blog 'Item Girls of Politics' in Times of India has highlighted the factor of trust erosion.The link is given below;

http://blogs.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/The-underage-optimist/entry/item_girls_of_politics

     I think the article clearly shows that trust-building needs to be nurtured.If people build up trust in a party,then signs of trust erosion need to be well-tackled.In the case of AAP,the rising graph of trust in it was astonishing. The  party  took up the cause of corruption,and it appeared that people associated with it were good.The distrust level of people with the established parties,Congress,and BJP,was  big factor in its favour.Now, after the recent dharna  by AAP ,the trust level in it appears to be going down.The educated middle class,which appeared to be its strength,seemed to lose trust in it.It felt that AAP should concentrate on governance by the rule of law,instead of resorting to agitationist politics.

The lessons of trust-building,and trust erosion as in the case of AAP are following;

1]  The trust of people in political parties is highly fluctuating.It can go up,and down,in no time.

2] Sincere,honest and transparent actions of parties are the key factors in building up trust.They should be  at the top agenda.

3] Political awareness,smart social media,and rising trust-deficit in all walks of life,have made people the best judge of the political parties.Trust can not be taken for granted now.

4] A professional approach in building up trust, nurturing it and strengthening it are  required by the political parties to win the hearts of the people.   

Is it difficult for A Leader To Trust People?

See my comment,and insights on a good article by Randy Conley,Trust Practice Leader for the Ken Blanchard Companies,in his blog.Randy has responded to my comment too.

http://leadingwithtrust.com/2014/01/12/4-reasons-you-dont-trust-people-and-what-to-do-about-it/

No doubt,trusting people is difficult for a leader.If he is able to do so,then he has won the battle.But,is it so easy?Not,at all.Leaders face this as a big challenge when the erosion of trust has become a global phenomenon.I think for leaders,trust-building is more important than other aspects of organisational development.Organisation dynamics can not change,if a culture of trust is not there in an organisation.

When a political  leader comes to power based on winning trust of people,he finds power,not a bed of roses.Simply,because now he has to find real ways to trust people around,who are now steeped in hunger for power .Arvind Kejriwal,Chief Minister of Aam Aadmi Party in Delhi may be facing this situation.The people who trusted him,and voted him to power are watching him.How he is able to trust his team members,who are now holding positions of power?Can he as a leader inspire them not to fall prey to evils of power?Can he build the same rapport with his team members ,based on same level of trust,as was in the past when they were with him in the movement against corruption?I think this is a big challenge of a political leader as far as trust is concerned.

Can Media Regain Public Trust?

When I went through the following link,I  liked the reading.It gives new insights on public trust and media,in a US perspective It has however,wider ramifications.
http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13921015000621

This question  is uppermost in my mind .Can media  regain public trust,if the trust level in political system is low?I think it is difficult.Simply because media can not hide the reality.People's awareness level has gone up,and their judgement is sharp.

Good governance is a big barometer of public trust.Performance,true action,and right intentions build up public trust.If all this absent,then using media to regain public trust appears to be a forced measure.It lacks spontaneity,which is based on genuine response of the heart.

Excessive reliance on media to shape the public trust does not work every time.A saturation point comes when people perceive ulterior designs behind this.In India,AAP used social media to win public trust in a big way.But,now they are in power in Delhi.People now want performance.Their awareness level has made them cautious.They can distinguish between earlier promises of AAP,and now their ability to deliver,while remaining in power.I think media can not cover the genuine impulse of a common man,which is public trust.. .

Facebook Trust and Social Media ;Looking Ahead

I went through the following link a quality article related to trust issues surrounding Facebook.

www.wallstcheatsheet.com/stocks/do-you-trust-facebook-mark-zuckerberg-wants-to-know.html/2/

   It is good to know that social media is trying to gauge the degree of trust of its users.A survey is no doubt an innovative method to get the feed-back of the users. Looking ahead,the example of Facebook may be emulated by other social media sites.Asking users with a question that 'Do You trust Facebook' is a good way to gauge public opinion Privacy of the users is a big issue to explore,through such survey.But,Facebook is becoming an addiction,so the issue of privacy is not important.

 Trust issues surrounding social media will be a burning issue in the times to come due to these reasons;

1]  Will the social media emerge as a more trust-worthy vehicle,more than print and electronic media?

2] What will be the level of competition regarding all forms of  social media,as far as trust is concerned?Will there be a healthy competition?Or,will this lead to competitive,unhealthy competition?Who will be the winner?

3] Will social media evolve strong systems which can protect the privacy of the users?This will be big issue in the future,as far as their trust level is concerned.

4] Will social media be top in government,and political class priorities?Social media appears to gaining an upper hand now.

5] Will citizen journalism emerge in a big way with the rising trust level of social media?

  

Is This A Wake-up Call?

  When I commented on the article in the link www.hrmagazine.co.uk/hro/news/1141294/trust-deficit-threatening-economic-recovery-cipd-report-warns,I found the statistics on trust in UK quite interesting.The survey results have implications for Indian organisations too.Is this a wake-up call?

How to Build Up Trust?

An important link on building up trust is given below;
http://news.investors.com/management-leaders-in-success/010214-684824-stand-by-promises-to-win-others-trust.htm

I like the post for many reasons.Firstly,it points out that leadership is very important for building up trust.Secondly, this talks of building up a culture of trust.Culture of trust in organisations creates bonds which are unbreakable.Thirdly,the of setting up an example of solid trust,which can be followed by others.

Measuring the level of trust amongst the companies is very important.We need more statistics to understand trust in all its dimensions.I think the measurable aspect of trust should come up with more sharp focus in future.