It’s a Matter of Trust (Part 1)

Trust is like a forest, it takes years to grow but can be destroyed in a moment”.

Have you ever thought, I mean really thought, what does trust mean to you and your business?

It is obvious that trust is the cornerstone that holds most relationships together. But what about in business, have you ever considered how important trust is to the relationships in your business? What will happen if there is a breakdown in those trusted relationships? Have you experienced such a breakdown?

In a normal commercial sense, there is nothing sexy about the definition of trust. It is generally defined as acting in a way that has another person’s “best interests” in mind or acting with “proper purpose” or with “care and due diligence”. Whilst all of these are, without doubt, crucial in establishing trust, what do they really mean? Is compliance with these duties enough to build deep, meaningful relationships that drive success through your business?

Click here to see what trust means to us.

Simon Sinek in his book “Leaders Eat Last”, says “trust is a very special human experience. Trust is not simply a matter of shared opinions, it is a biological reaction that creates the feeling that someone has your well-being at heart“.

Trust is a deeply shared feeling between people, it may initially feel like a warm, fuzzy feeling, but when experienced in its purest form, it triggers a release of the hormone oxytocin, hence the biological “explanation” to our feeling of security. Hopefully at some stage in your life, you have had that feeling. That feeling when you are with someone and you feel that they genuinely care and want to help you.

Building trust takes time to nurture. It isn’t found in a single event, though a single event may significantly influence the emergence of trust, it isn’t found by simply sharing the same opinion or supporting the same team. Trust takes time, it is nurtured, by sharing a deep personal relationship with another person, this includes business relationships. These relationships are built on the knowledge that “we have your back“, a shared reliance to “look out for and care for each other”. To celebrate your victories and share the pain of your loss.

Lots of people want to ride the limo with you, but what you want is someone to take the bus with you when the limo breaks down“. _Oprah Winfrey

Tough times often produce the deepest trust, being empathetic and compassionate at a time of loss can create strong bonds that endure a life time.

Think about the most trusted bonds you have in your life, what have you done that has brought them together and in some cases, pushed them away. Likewise, think about your most trusted relationships in your business or at your job, what is it that holds these together? For those of you who play team sport, think about those relationships within your team, both winning and losing teams. What was different between those teams and perhaps your workplace and your personal life?

Building Trusted Relationships 
It is hard to trust someone to take responsibility for others when they can barely take responsibility for themselves“.

To nurture a culture of trust, surround yourself with people who “have your back” and are prepared to support you to achieve your goals. Don’t ask what someone is prepared to do for you in the good times, ask them what they are prepared to do for you in the tough times.

Our team are proud to be the first choice for many businesses and have supported them through their toughest times. As a result, a common theme with all our clients is the feeling that the Real Balance team, “have our back, as much if not more than me“, “without question, I trust the Real Balance team” and “we wouldn’t be where we are, without the team from Real Balance“.

Real Balance rode the bumps during the GFC in 2008, so tough times are not new to us, we have been here before and our experience can be your strength during these challenging times.

We have dedicated ourselves to building strong, trusted relationships with our clients. These relationships have been crucial to our clients success as much as it has to our success. We have consulted with many organisations and teams, to help them improve their “Trust-Edge” and build better businesses that were more profitable and more enjoyable to work at, thereby helping business owners to reach their goals and make all the hours working in the business, worthwhile.