When we trust another person, we believe they have the integrity and strength to engage consistently. Our respect for another person is more a reflection of admiring them for their abilities or qualities. Leaders often think trust and respect go hand in hand. After all, can you really trust someone if you don’t respect them? And how deep can respect be if the other person is not trustworthy?
How about the concept of “owed trust/respect” and “earned trust/respect”. Ie in the workplace perhaps owed trust/respect looks something like, “you’re a human, I’m a human, lets start with common decency in our interactions. You’ve got this job because someone thought you’re up to it”. Earned respect/trust looks like “you’ve been here a while now and you’re doing well.”
My thoughts are that the baseline “owed” allows teams to move to honest conversations which lead to improvements and optimal performance. What do you think?
The Difficult Marriage Between Trust and Respect
How about the concept of “owed trust/respect” and “earned trust/respect”. Ie in the workplace perhaps owed trust/respect looks something like, “you’re a human, I’m a human, lets start with common decency in our interactions. You’ve got this job because someone thought you’re up to it”. Earned respect/trust looks like “you’ve been here a while now and you’re doing well.”
My thoughts are that the baseline “owed” allows teams to move to honest conversations which lead to improvements and optimal performance. What do you think?