Which sounds better? High stress, meaningless relationships, frequent job loss and suspicion OR well-being, great friendships and frequent promotions?
We’ve all heard the expression “Happy Wife, Happy Life” but how about “High Trust, It’s a Must” or “Low Trust Go Bust!.” I contend that being trustworthy will not only make you happy, but wealthier in many ways than you are today.
What do we mean by being trustworthy? Let’s use this very simple definition.
Act with integrity and always keep your word.
First, let’s talk about the inherent risks of being untrustworthy:
It takes more time and psychological energy than it’s trustworthy counterpart and results in:
- High stress
- Low energy
- Frequent job loss
- Meaningless relationships
- Low levels of creativity
- High levels of suspicion among friends, family and coworkers
- High barriers to communication due to lack of honesty and broken promises
- Poor and slow decision making
- High transaction costs
- Win/lose situations
On the flip side, here are ten great reasons to be trustworthy:
- Psychological well-being
- Meaningful friendships and business relationships
- Faster, more efficient decision making
- Greater personal effectiveness in groups
- Greater support for your decisions
- Career promotions
- Win/win opportunities
- Role modeling trustworthy behavior
- More time for creativity and relaxation
- More money in your pocket (people want to do business with those they trust)
Be trustworthy. The benefits are far greater than the alternative. What do you think? Leave a comment.
Barbara Kimmel is the Executive Director of Trust Across America-Trust Around the World and the “Tribal Chief” of the growing Alliance of Trustworthy Business Experts. She is also the editor of the award-winning crowd sourced book series TRUST INC. In 2012, Barbara was named “One of 25 Women Who Are Changing the World.”
In the long run the positive results of exercising trust outweigh the negatives. You have to be strong to deal with the negatives. So to to those people whom you expect to trust you. As much as you have to deal with your own insecurities in trusting them, they must also do so.
Trust is a systemic phenomenon. All the people need to contribute to building trust. The emotional commitment you make in the form of trusting others represents a psychological investment in the relationship. As with any investment you can’t expect to get anything out if you put nothing in.