Trust is fragile. Experience demonstrates that a bond of trust, once broken generally makes re-establishing a relationship tougher. The challenge is to identify those behaviors and attitudes to avoid that can fracture the bond of trust. These examples are generally pretty obvious, yet happen far too often:

The Lexicon of Trust Busters – Part One

1.  Arrogance:  The absence of empathy.  Taking action without consulting those directly or indirectly affected. Making decisions unilaterally, without important input from key partners.

2. Broken Promises:  One of the crucial bases of trust is that each party can rely on the commitments of the other, both implied and explicit.  When those commitments are broken without prior notification, understanding, explanation, and warning, the first element of the relationship to suffer is trust.  Losing the safety of commitment can call into question most other elements of the relationship as well.

3. Chest Beating:  The mindless, needless, and useless flogging of reputation, achievements.  Unwarranted self-congratulatory, self-validating behavior puts distance between those who want to be trusted and those who need to trust.  It is a form of self-deception through self-talk.

4. Creating Fear:  This usually occurs when something you do damages or threatens to damage someone’s core values without their permission, knowledge, or participation.  It could be the appearance of deception; it could be the feeling of unreliability in the relationship.

James E. Lukaszewski, ABC, Fellow IABC; APR, Fellow PRSA, BEPS Emeritus

If you have questions, or would like to dive more deeply into the subject of this blog, you can reach me 24/7 at jel@e911.com; 203-948-7029 (voicemail, email, text). I look forward, as a friend and colleague, to helping you achieve the objectives you’ve set for yourself for having a happier, more influential, successful and meaningful career.

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