7 ways to build greater trust in all of your partnerships

Trust takes a different shape depending on the form of partnership, but in all circumstances, we should try to design our partnerships — whether professional or personal — to default to trust.

Here are 7 guiding principles:

1. Assume good intentions
2. Create a safe, honest space for trust to grow
3. Be transparent and clear
4. Make hard conversations the norm
5. Allow mistakes to build trust
6. Watch your body language
7. Trust yourself

Don’t jump to conclusions about the other person’s actions, going immediately to a place of fear or distrust. Trust grows when you are confident the other person has your back, as well as the collective benefit of the relationship in mind. 

A strong purpose helps embed good intentions in every action. It deepens momentary trust into something enduring and profound. Consistently defaulting to trust takes a leap of faith, which in turn encourages more trust.

This requires time and regular moments that build stability, history and joy. When you make honesty and openness a central priority with your Deep Connections, people won’t hide from difficult conversations.

Don’t be afraid to talk about the tough stuff.

It’s easier to be honest and open when you design for transparency.

A clear operating framework, including clear roles and responsibilities, is fundamental in enabling trust to flourish. It allows people to be heard, make decisions, take risks, be efficient and do extraordinary thinks.

Don’t be afraid to talk about the tough stuff.

The idea is to communicate openly, always, so that people are free to express themselves even when what they have to say is hard to hear. The worst thing you can do is disengage, ignoring stressors on yourself and others until the tremors grow into an earthquake that could destroy the relationship.

No matter how carefully you craft a relationship, there are moments when trust can be broken, especially in the early stages, when you and your partner don’t have a sense of shared history to help you understand why someone is doing something that appears hurtful. Acknowledging and taking responsibility for mistakes can go a long way toward building trust.

Ultimately, building enduring trust with someone else is impossible unless you already have that kind of trust in yourself.

Rolling your eyes or turning your back when someone is talking to you can be all it takes to undermine trust.

Ultimately, building enduring trust with someone else is impossible unless you already have that kind of trust in yourself.

As you better understand yourself, you will come to recognize that other people are simply trying to be their best selves, too. That understanding will enable you to collaborate more openly and effectively.