Knowing How to Maintain Relationships of Trust

It can be several types of trust: friendly, romantic, professional …

The context has a great impact on the relationships of trust that you can maintain.

Therefore, knowing how to maintain relationships of trust is essential for the sustainability of your relationships, but also for your well-being.

Indeed, there is a satisfying dimension to being trustworthy.

A look back at this essential dimension of human, personal or professional relationships.

To maintain trusting relationships, start by having confidence in yourself!
Trust, the cement of personal and professional relationships
Whether it is love, friendship or a professional relationship, trust is one of the most precious assets, one of the most beautiful things we can offer to another .

Trusting someone means allowing them to grow, knowing that they will always act in accordance with your own principles while maintaining their integrity. More broadly, trust is what governs human relationships : you like to feel confident at your doctor’s office, you appreciate being able to get into a taxi you trust, you hope to run into good people on your way home and not thugs.

Trust is like a social contract : it’s something we grant by default, by remaining on guard, within society.

On the other hand, in the personal or professional sphere, trust is something you choose to give .

This relationship based on choice implies mutual (and expected) respect on both sides, for each other’s values and visions of things.

For example, you will not trust someone who lies : uncertainty, fear, mistrust, this puts you in an embarrassing situation.

But often, this distrust of others stems above all from personal discomfort, or bad experiences.

Learn to trust yourself…
Unfortunately, it is very difficult to trust someone blindly.

Have you ever experienced betrayal or disappointment ?

Very few people could claim to answer no.

These bad experiences , which more than 95% of the population has already had, are commonplace and contribute to the development of your vision of what a good friendly, romantic or professional relationship is.

For example, not everyone has the same definition of deception.

Some people will be offended by a simple inappropriate look, while for others, it’s the physical act that counts.

This means that there is no single standard when it comes to trusting others : it all starts with the trust you have in yourself.

So, dwelling on past relationship failures will only taint your future relationships : by living in constant fear that they will disappoint you again, you will not give these people enough space to show you that they are trustworthy.

So first have confidence in yourself, to have confidence in others!

…To have confidence in others.
This is an important quality, particularly in the professional environment : knowing how to trust and maintain relationships of trust is the hallmark of a manager .

Indeed, he is accountable to his customers, but also to his managers within the company.

Everyone has a different kind of trust in him, and knowing how to adapt is a sign of intelligence.

By having confidence in yourself and your principles, you will be more able to trust others professionally to take over.

Showing that you know how to give your colleagues a chance is a great way to show that you have a step back from yourself : it proves that you rely on them to do work that is important to you.

This trust you place in others is, of course, progressive .

Placing immediate and blind trust in people you don’t know would be very unproductive: by knowing each person’s character well, you are able to practice “trust adaptation.”

It is granting trust by default, without taking any risk.

For example, a person who is always late will not be a good relay for leading professional meetings.

You can trust this person with other things, but not this one.

Getting to know yourself , and then getting to know others, helps build a relationship of trust. But how can you maintain it over the long term?

What attitudes should we adopt?

The attitudes to adopt to be a trustworthy person
This may seem obvious, but it is important to listen to others to maintain mutual trust .

Indeed, knowing how to listen is another important part of a relationship: understanding what the other person is going through, providing support depending on the situation, all of this makes you someone they can trust.

Conversely, imagine needing to confide in someone: if the person you are talking to isn’t interested in you or, worse, goes against what you are saying, your level of trust will diminish and you will be less likely to confide in that person later on.

Also, it is important to adopt a frank and honest attitude .

Transparency has always been a valued quality in human relations, although in practice it is not respected.

It is indeed essential to find the right compromise between sometimes hurtful frankness and honest transparency .

This is where another human quality manifests itself: the ability to communicate diplomatically.

Expressing your vision of things, trying to understand that of the other, saying what is going well or not, all this contributes to creating a lasting relationship of trust.

Finally, regularity and consistency are other key elements in being a trustworthy person: interested people quickly distinguish themselves from people for whom the relationship of trust matters.

Being reliable at a particular event is one thing, but that doesn’t make you a trustworthy person: you have to be reliable all year round, in all circumstances.

After all, ” it is mutual trust, more than mutual interest, that unites human groups ” more than your ambitions , it is your principles that lead you to have relationships of trust with some people more than others!

—

This post was previously published on medium.com.

***