#28 - Understanding Trust
A week off...
Welcome to week 28 of Tuesday’s Rule, a weekly breakdown of a life lesson that I’ve found to be useful or interesting.
I’m taking a week off writing to get married! 🥂
I’m re-posting a breakdown of Trust I wrote back in 2022 to fill the gap. I hope you enjoy it, see you soon! ✌🏻❤️
Falling asleep on a plane, eating at a new restaurant, putting your money in a bank.
For many of us, these aren't activities to which we need to give too much thought.
But if we think about it, these all involve complicated underlying details most of us don't understand.
I don't know about you, but I have no idea how a plane stays in the air, yet I'm very comfortable walking onto one and relaxing as it flies 35,000ft above land and sea.
We can do these things because of trust.
We trust almost every second of every day. Walk into any room, and we trust that the ceiling won't collapse on our heads. Get into an Uber, and we trust the driver will safely take us to our destination.
But how often do we think about the concept of trust?
The definition of trust is the "firm belief in the reliability, truth, or ability of someone or something."
This definition is a helpful start, but it leaves a gap in what might deliver that firm belief in the first place. Why am I so relaxed on a plane when I know nothing about how it works? Especially when the consequences of something going wrong would be so dire.
It also doesn't explain why trust can differ from person to person.
For example, look up the trustworthiness of Rishi Sunak (the PM of the UK at the time). YouGov has a poll which asks, "Thinking about Rishi Sunak, do you think he is trustworthy or untrustworthy?"
The answer is about 50/50.
What is it about the definition or concept of trust that is different for people that means there is this split?
Trust is a complex topic that underpins so much that we take for granted. But it's loosely defined.
Below is my attempt to simplify and formulate the concept of trust.
The simplest definition and guide for how trust is generated:
Trust = Good Intent + Competence
As I think deeper about the concept of trust and think through different examples, the formula and its components make more sense.
I am relaxed about getting on a plane because I can see the intent and believe in the competence.
Everything that goes into preparing and checking the plane has the intention of getting to the destination — aligned with my own plans — as do the friendly staff who greet me. If you fly with a well-established airline, you know from the millions of flights operated safely that the plane is 'competent'. It is the combination of these things that makes flying trustworthy.
Here's a little more about the components of each part of the simple equation:
Good Intent is proven by:
Empathy - the ability to understand and share the feelings of others
Transparency - visibility into what the other side is doing and how
Accountability - taking responsibility when things might go wrong
Good intent is clearly essential, but without competence, trust would be difficult to generate. If you had a health issue and someone said to you, "I can help; I want to be a doctor," it doesn't matter how empathetic and transparent they are; you would probably want to work with an experienced medical professional.
Competence is proven by:
Tangible experience - how things are done, look and feel
Intangible experience - not just what is physically seen, but how you are made to feel
Consistency - proving results over time
By understanding and thinking about trust in this way, with these building blocks, we can simplify an opaque concept vital to modern life.
I will never know what makes a plane stay in the air. I will never need to know what makes a plane stay in the air because of trust. Trust is not about understanding the working details or the inner goings on but being able to point to good intent and competence.
Trust allows us to live our lives. It underpins almost everything we do.
But, it is changing.
The idea of trust, the world we live in, and how we are told to trust is changing.
There are two main categories of factors that underpin this change: technology and a group of people who seem to be deliberately challenging the very idea of how and who we trust.
Social media, AI and the sheer availability of information that we are bombarded with daily makes it very difficult to determine what we can and can't trust.
Technology is incredible, and I am more optimistic than most about the upside potential of AI, which is far more worthy of focus than the doomsday headlines we see. However, one obvious side effect is the growing challenge of knowing what's real and not real. (i.e. the below AI-generated image)
As for those deliberately trying to erode trust, I am not here to speculate on motivations, but I am sure it is happening.
Think back to the Brexit debate - one line often repeated by the Leave side was that "this country has had enough of experts."
This is one of the stupidest things ever said by anyone.
Without us having to think about it, experts make our lives immeasurably easier by reducing the amount we need to know. Being encouraged to challenge experts is the tip of a slippery slope that could lead to, for one, believing and spreading wild and dangerous conspiracy theories.
Trust is one of society's most important pillars, and I’m afraid I don’t know the proper response to these challenges.
But there are two things I will focus on as the world changes around me.
1 - Remember the formula and its components
Trust = Good Intent + Competence
Focusing on the formula and challenging whether the components are met is as good a way as any to ensure I trust the right things.
Good intent is particularly important to understand in the modern world.
It is very, very easy to confuse aligned intentions with good intentions. If you and I want the same things, it is much easier for us to trust each other without verifying our trustworthiness. This may explain Rishi Sunak's near-even split in trustworthiness.
2 - Be trustworthy
We can only control our own controllables and our own actions.
In a world where trust is harder to come by, being trustworthy is a way to ensure that we are doing our part.
When showing up in the world, doing so with empathy and accountability whilst consistently keeping our word to ourselves and others will help to maintain trust.
Trust is one of the most essential pillars of society, and it is only through good intent, competence, and valuing true expertise we can rely on that remaining the case.