How Can People Trust You, If You Don’t Trust Them?
Judge for yourself. What is the value of trust? If you don’t trust someone, then should you think it strange, if they don’t trust you? It works both ways. Consider the current VW scandal.
As of 2015, Volkswagen is the second-largest automaker in the world. The revelation that VW cheated on US Environmental Protection Agency emission tests will result in the recall of 500,000 cars and a potential fine of $15bn. Russell Hotten of BBC News explains the scandal.
“Some cars in America had devices in diesel engines that could detect when they were being tested, changing the performance accordingly to improve results.”
The fallout from the scandal may affect more than VW or the German economy, but the testing of emissions on other carmakers, not just in the US, but worldwide. Alison Smale for the New York Times, in her article, “A Car Scandal Shoves Berlin Off High Ground,” explores the implications of how this scandal affects the German position in its actions in lecturing Greece and other debtor nations “on the virtues of thrift” and chiding “countries that balk at receiving a share of refugees from the killing fields of Syria.”
“Trust is part of the lust for innovation in a country," said Volker Kauder, a prominent member of Ms. Merkel’s Christian Democrats. Its loss, he said, "could really cause us economic problems." Fiddling with software or sensors, he went on, "is not the kind of innovation we need.”
How Can You Trust People, Who Don't Trust You?
One cannot expect to receive from others that which is not given to them. If you want trust from others, you must demonstrate trust to them. And, when you sense uncertainty or distrust from others, especially those subject to your authority, you must extend good faith to them. Give them the opportunity to succeed or fail to return that trust to you. The ones who return that trust, give them more. Those who do not, limit them, and only attempt the same again, as circumstance and opportunity affords. For those above you, by faithful execution of your responsibilities and going beyond their expectations, trust is demonstrated.
Trust is the essence of any good organization.
