Why do we need trust?
We believe in the adage “No risk, no reward.” We believe that to get a significant reward, we often must take considerable risk, and frequently, that risk prevents us from seeking the reward.
It’s actually not the objective risk, as it is the subjective fear of it. For example, there could be a $1,000 investment that would potentially yield a $1,000,000 reward. The objective risk is that you lose your $1,000 investment. However, someone with $10,000,000 in the bank will not be as afraid of that possible loss as someone with $10,000. From this moment on, I will use the terms “risk” and “fear” interchangeably, but I really refer to the subjective fear of that risk.
We each have a risk (fear) tolerance level, or bar. If the risk we are about to take exceeds our risk tolerance, we feel danger. If the risk is below the risk tolerance bar, we feel safe.
In my Trust Premium™ surveys, I always include the question, “To what degree do you agree with the statement: I feel comfortable taking risk.” In a recent study of 426 participants, 48% indicated they felt comfortable taking risks, 30% said they were uncomfortable, and 23% were neutral.
In the survey, 219 participants were women, and 206 were men. Separating their responses revealed that while 53% of men felt comfortable taking risks, only 42% of women felt the same way, and while 35% of women were uncomfortable taking risks, only 24% of men felt that way, an 11% difference.
I also found that age affected the willingness to take risks, where at the age of 18, the average response was “Somewhat agree” (feeling comfortable taking risks), while at the age of 65, the average response was between “Neutral” and “Somewhat disagree.” With age, we are less comfortable taking risks. Young people feel invincible and feel 42% more comfortable taking risks than 65-year-olds.
When we seek a reward that is associated with a risk that exceeds our risk tolerance, we need someone (or something) to trust to help us overcome the unacceptable risk associated with that reward. Trusting them reduces our perceived risk and thus bridges the gap between the risk we must take for that reward and our risk-tolerance bar.
My definition of Trust
After reading almost every definition of trust, I decided on my own definition: “Trust is your willingness to accept the negative consequences of giving control over something you have to another person/thing, expecting them to do their best to minimize those possibilities/consequences.” Let’s break it down:
Trust is a voluntary decision. You decide if you are willing to trust or not. Circumstances might be such that you have no better alternatives, but the decision to trust is still yours.
You need to trust because there could be potential negative consequences or risks. Trusting someone will allow you to accept that potential.
Trusting the other person means giving them control over something you have or otherwise control yourself, such as your money, time, job security, or even your life.
You may trust yourself (which really is only a change in your risk-tolerance bar), God, or other people. Sometimes you trust people you know, and sometimes you trust people you don’t know through transferrable trust (do you really know the people who built and maintained the plane you are about to board? You trust them, without knowing them, because you trust the airline or aircraft manufacturer).
Trusting them means that you have an expectation that they would minimize the possibility of the negative consequences. To do that, they must have the capacity or capability to reduce that risk, the willingness, and the knowledge that you (or someone in your place) trust them.
We must also remember that trust is continuous and not binary. It’s not an absolute willingness you might have to accept those potential negative consequences, but really the degree to which you are willing to accept them.
Can people be trusted?
Another question from my survey is, “To what degree do you agree/disagree with the following? | People can generally be trusted?” Based on the last study of 426 people, I found that 42% felt that people can generally be trusted, while 35% thought they couldn’t.
After categorizing by gender, I found that while 46% of men felt that people can generally be trusted, only 37% of women felt the same. However, there was not a lot of difference between their feelings about people not being trusted (36% of men and 35% of women). Women were generally more “on the fence” (28% neutral compared to only 18% by men). I did not find a significant difference with age.
Want to hear more? Listen to the podcast episode at: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/s13e9-what-is-trust-why-do-we-need-it/id1569249060?i=1000657022990
Dr. Yoram Solomon is an expert in trust, employee engagement, teamwork, organizational culture, and leadership. He is the author of The Book of Trust, host of The Trust Show podcast, a three-time TEDx speaker, and facilitator of the Trust Habits workshop and masterclass that explains what trust is and how to build trust in organizations. He is a frequent speaker at SHRM events and a contributor to HR.com magazine.
The Book of Trust®, The Innovation Culture Institute®, and Trust Habits® are registered trademarks of Yoram Solomon. Trust Premium™, the Relative Trust Inventory™, and The Trust Show™ are trademarks of Yoram Solomon.
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