Cardinal Principles of Trust

Charles Handy, a fellow of the London School of Business and author of The Hungry Spirit (Broadway Books, 1998), believes there are seven underlying principles to creating and maintaining trust in an organization.

Trust is not blind... Trust requires experience. Small, intact teams working together over time have high trust.

Trust needs boundaries... Trust is confidence in one's own and others' abilities, not blind faith in the unknown.

Trust demands learning... Work groups must be flexible and willing to change with changing conditions, but they also need to know why change is called for.

Trust is tough... People must live up to expectations or be removed from the group.

Trust needs bonding... Group intimacy and contact along with clear goals and mission pull a group together.

Trust needs touch... Face-to-face, personal contact creates trust between people.

Trust requires leaders... Leaders set vision, set pace, clarify mission and build energy. They do not create trust per se, but keeping their word and demonstrating competence leads to confidence. —R.Z.