Can you be trusted?
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| Image by Isolano |
We trust them to serve a purpose in our day to day goings on; to be mates, to be suppliers, to pay our invoices, to make us coffee, to stick sharp instruments in our mouths to make our teeth better, to look after our children, to collaborate. Without some basis of trust, what reason is there to permit them into the roped off area that is Your Life otherwise?
Every now and then, I find it a pretty helpful practice to reflect upon my fellow humans and those I find myself relying on to help me skate rather than stumble down the yellow brick road. For one thing, reviewing the spreadsheet of my blessings helps me more appreciate all the good I’ve got going on. For another, it can serve as a prompt for me to jettison arrangements that might fall under the category of See How Far I Can Spit? My Trust For You Won’t Even Get You That Far, Pal.
The other thing is that by reflecting upon what it is that makes me keep going back to certain people and places, it’s a nice reminder of the type of qualities I can strive to embody to help me be a better friend or, in business, a better service provider.
If I were to do a quick tally, here are but a few of those on whom I rely:
I trust ...
My best friends to care for my children in times of unexpected work surges or personal chaos. For example, during those occasions when I might need to leave one child behind as I dash back to my hotel room with her sibling who has unceremoniously vomited in the middle of our friends' Fiji wedding ceremony. (Apparently, the words, “Hey, should we feed her or something?” were uttered in the subsequent hour.) See? Trustworthy.
My graphic designer to read my mind. And also, to push me to express clearly my business messages to her so that she can visually represent them accurately and dy-NA-mitely.
My mum to listen. And to say just the right thing when I’m wrestling with a tormenting personal conundrum.
iTunes Genius (not technically a person but a trustworthy ally all the same) to provide me with a mood-enhancing (or mood-changing) selection of delicious music when I have no capacity for manual sounds selection.
These folks (and application) have helped so much in the past that I can relax and enjoy the enhancement they bring to me and I can accept that help at face value. No need to question their motivation or merit. No need to go to any other source for help in their particular areas of specialty.
Not that I’m saying reliance on those we know as trustworthy is fail-safe. No one and nothing is perfect – everyone slips up sometimes.
Just last week for example, my genius friend iTunes Genius took my cue for a Paul Kelly track as a sign I needed to hear some Kenny & Dolly’s Once Upon a Christmas (please spare me your anti-Kenny and Dolly diatribe. Everyone knows Christmas is the Get Out of Tacky Gaol Free card).
But, because iTunes Genius has proved itself to me many times over, it warrants another chance and if need be another after that (Paul Kelly fuck ups notwithstanding).
So how do I earn a trustworthy reputation for myself ?....
As a friend/family member?
- Be a good listener and a shoulder to cry on
- Keep secrets
- Share in the big moments and memory making
- Take an interest
- Never bring up those nights involving naying like a horse, that drain in Amsterdam and two odd shoes (shhhhhhh!)
As a business service provider:
- · Provide what you promised
- · Go that extra mile
- · Be enthusiastic, yet constructive
- · Deliver value worthy of investment
- · Show loyalty
Who do you consider to be trustworthy?
In what ways does your business show its trustworthiness?
