Chapter 25
Dealing with Untrustworthy People
One of the most frequent reservations we hear about doing business with trust is: “I would love to conduct myself like that, but I don’t trust my boss [or my colleagues] to act the same way.” This sentiment generally underestimates what you can accomplish on your own. This chapter explores what you can do to lead with trust even when dealing with people in your workplace who seem untrustworthy. It explores strategies for dealing with trust conflicts, and offers criteria for deciding when it is time to walk away. This chapter will help you in cases where you feel personally conflicted, fearful, or compromised by the behavior of members of your own organization1 and are not certain how to respond.
There is no organization with a perfect track record on trust. And there is no denying that there are real challenges facing you when you want to behave in trustworthy and trusting manners.
When you feel surrounded by untrustworthy people, your first instinct may be to minimize your risk. Here’s the result if you follow that instinct—you will be sucked into the vortex of low trust yourself. The solution to low trust does not lie in prevention, risk-control, or avoidance—it lies in selectively taking risks in order to build trust.
Remember, there is no trust without risk. It is the act of taking risk that creates trust, and there is no more powerful application of this principle than your relationship to others in your own organization.
People ...
