(Taken from Organizational Behavior by Stephen P. Robbins)
What is trust anyway?
Trust is a positive expectation that another will not - through words, actions, or decisions - act opportunistically.
Only when you are perceived as being trust-worthy can you gain access to knowledge and cooperation.
Here are some practices that can help you build trust in your relationships:
* Practice Openness.
Mistrust comes as much from what people don't know as from what they do know.
Keep people informed, make the criteria on how decisions are made, explain the rationale
of your decisions, be candid about problems, and fully disclose relevant information.
* Be Fair.
Before making decisions or taking action, consider how others will perceive them in terms of
objectivity and fairness. Give credit where it'd due, be objective and impartial in performance
appraisals, and pay attention to equity perceptions in reward distributions.
* Speak Your Feelings.
Managers who convey only hard facts come across as cold and distant. When you share your
feelings, others will see you as real and human. They will know you as a person and their respect
will increase.
* Tell The Truth.
If integrity is critical to trust, you must be perceived as someone who tells the truth. People
are generally more tolerant of learning something not in their favor, rather than learning that
they've been lied to.
* Show Consistency.
People want predictability. Mistrust also comes from not knowing what to expect. Your
values and beliefs should consistently guide your decisions, allowing others to know what
they can expect and not expect from you.
* Fulfill Promises.
Trust requires that people believe that you are dependable. So you need to ensure that you
keep your word and commitments. Words mean nothing when they come up empty.
* Maintain Confidences.
You trust people who are discreet and upon whom you can rely. When people make themselves
vulnerable by telling you something in confidence, they need to feel assured that you will not
discuss it with others or betray that confidence.
* Demonstrate Competence.
Develop the admiration and respect of others by demonstrating technical and professional ability.
Not to intimidate, rather to assure others that you are a master of your field.
I guess this goes to show us the truth in the saying that "trust is not given, it's earned."