Musings at Altitude

I spent last week on the road…something I seem to do most weeks…meeting new people…getting to know them personally…understanding what they do in business and in life…seeking that moment of enlightenment that clearly shows there’s reason to tie ourselves more closely together for either professional or personal reasons…building a foundation for trust.

Trust.

That’s what it all comes down to.  Do they appear trustworthy from the moment you shake hands to the moment you say thanks at the end of the meeting.  If not, is something they said, or did, or didn’t do, reflective of who they are or just a momentary lapse in consideration and not who they might really be?

I’ve found myself relying heavily now on those first interactions, those first indications of trustworthiness, those first insights into who people really are.  Because some folks are exactly who they really are at all times, thus giving you great visibility into who you’ll be relating with going forward.  Others are very different in those first meetings, or in meetings with very senior and respected people, or in meetings where even they know they need to be acting different in order to achieve whatever desired result they may want.  It’s harder with those folks.  You need to watch more closely, dig in just a little bit deeper, open up for the intuition to take the lead rather than just accept or believe in face value.

Trust.

Beyond that first meeting, trust is built or firmly established through the tough challenges that are then overcome together.  Trust in deeply ingrained or instilled through the very candid conversations and desperate desire to do the right things at all times even when something must be sacrificed to do that going forward.  Trust is ultimately rooted in those shared, tough, overwhelming-at-times experiences where the words, actions and results are pre-determined in a sense from the intimate relationship building that has been done over the weeks, months, and years of then knowing each other.

Trust helps you overcome the challenges sure to come.

Trust helps you meet and exceed expectations.

Trust helps you serve more, give more, love more, and live more.

It’s all about trust.

And we’re assessing our ability to trust someone all the time.

Even if we say we’re not.

It’s all about trust.

What do you do to determine if there can be trust or if their is trust in your relationships?