Building trust requires being trustworthy and trusting wisely

“Summary and slide presentation”

Trust
Trustworthiness
Character
Stoicism
Author
Affiliation

Tomás Aragón

California Department of Public Health

Published

August 8, 2023

View or download full slides

I prepared a slide presentation on building and extending trust. Below are the key points. You have access to the full slide set for reviewing or sharing.

I will be updating this blog entry with narrative, as time permits.

View or download full slide presentation.

Feedback is valued and appreciated.

Tomás

Introduction

Interpersonal trust and trust of government institutions are the strongest drivers of successful government interventions during public health emergencies.

Communities (“trustors”) ask of government (“trustee”) the following questions:

  1. Can I believe you? (character drives credibility)
  2. Do you care about me? (caring drives benevolence)
  3. Can you deliver? (competency drives confidence)
  4. Can I count on you? (consistency and reliability drive confidence)

Key points

  • Both trust and trustworthiness are inherent in all relationships, but rarely defined precisely.
  • Trust is a psychological state of the trustor—the willingness to be vulnerable to the actions of another party. It’s a choice, mostly intuitive, but sometimes deliberative.
  • Trustworthiness are attributes of the trustee—character, caring, competence, and consistency that drive reasoning, thoughts, feelings, and actions that affect trust.
  • Trustee: To build trust, (1) be trustworthy; (2) use a human-centered approach to assess the needs of the trustor (propensity to trust, perception of risk, appraisal of trustee’s trustworthiness); and (3) act in ways that inspire trust in the trustor.
  • CAUTION: Being trustworthy is necessary but not sufficient to build trust.
  • Trustor: To extend trust, options include (1) assuming good intent and PDSA; (2) assess your propensity to trust, perception of risk to you, and appraisal of trustee’s trustworthiness; or (3) communicate clearly what you need to have trust and confidence in them.

4CAPP model of trust (3 versions)

Figure 1: 4CAPP model (picture): Relationships involve both trust and trustworthiness simultaneously between parties. To capture this two-way dynamic, the 4CAPP model was adapted from organizatonal trust researcher Professor Roger C Mayer. It includes key elements from the Feltman and Covey books.

Figure 2: 4CAPP model (infographic): Relationships involve both trust and trustworthiness simultaneously between parties. To capture this two-way dynamic, the 4CAPP model was adapted from organizatonal trust researcher Professor Roger C Mayer. It includes key elements from the Feltman and Covey books.

Figure 3: 4CAPP model (full): Relationships involve both trust and trustworthiness simultaneously between parties. To capture this two-way dynamic, the 4CAPP model was adapted from organizatonal trust researcher Professor Roger C Mayer. It includes key elements from the Feltman and Covey books.
View or download full slides

View or download full slide presentation.

Feedback is valued and appreciated.