A Matter of Trust

Distrust is everywhere.

“You lie!” yells a Congressman, interrupting the President’s September 2009 speech to a joint session of Congress, breaching US legislative etiquette and revealing the depth of his and his party’s distrust.

Perhaps distrust is the American way: our love of capitalism where each side is expected to push for their own benefits (caveat emptor), our historical skepticism over what drives people in power, our macho assertions of individuality that we sometimes hope mask our vulnerabilities.

“Believe only half of what you see and nothing that you hear” wrote Dinah Mullock Craik, a mid-19th century American novelist.

But distrust has been part of the human experience for a very long time.

“Men trust their ears less than their eyes” wrote Greek philosopher Herodotus in the 5th Century BC. Around the same time but on the other side of the planet, Sun Tzu, Chinese author of The Art of War wrote that “Generals must be assessed according to wisdom, trustworthiness, benevolence, courage and discipline.” Each signify that trustworthiness has been both a rare and desired human quality for at least 3000 years.

Though trust is elusive and often hard to establish, it is also the essential grounding for all relationships. Without trust there can be no relationship, no partnership to accomplish something bigger than what one person can do. And it is this blog’s premise that without trust, all efforts to promote sustainability will fail (because sustainability is the development of relationships more than the adaptation of technology).

In comments to my first post, a marketing genius suggested “business – over time – cannot succeed without trust. It is the first and most important ‘glue’ before anything else (‘education’) can take place. Since it is such a critical asset – an environmental professional might gain even more traction by demonstrating the ‘strategy’ of environmental improvement (not perfection) and how these initiatives – if marketed – can improve trust across the spectrum of stakeholders (customers – employees – vendors – and shareholders). And – since the foundation is strategic and the message is ‘trust’ – it remains more sustainable.”

So what is trust? I visualize trust as two ladders leaning against each other, each with 4-steps … and these ladders can remain standing only when the people on each side stand apart by no more than 1 step in elevation … any bigger difference and the ladders destabilize and fall.

Ladders of Trust

1. These Ladders of Trust sit on a floor called “Distrust.” That floor shakes with unpredictable tremors and is filled with residents acclimated to the bitterness that grows when individuals push, pull and shove for personal gain. It is a violent place, one upon which it is difficult though not impossible to raise any ladder of trust (partially because it is also rampant with skepticism designed to keep anybody else from climbing above the floor).
2. When two ladders are finally leaned against each other, it signifies a mutual attempt to build trust. The first rung on each ladder represents a “Test of Rules.” People climbing to this step promise to abide by the same rules, the same constraints. If the behavior of your partner-in-trust is in line with the agreed-upon rules of engagement, trust increases allowing you to consider climbing to the next step… whereas unpredictable behavior gives you a reason to step down before you get hurt.
3. The next rung on the Ladder of Trust represents a “Test of Goals.” Climbing up to this step, each party evaluates what the other expects to achieve through their partnership. They don’t have to be reaching for the same goals, but the goals cannot conflict either (i.e. the partnership has to be mutually beneficial, not designed to put one of the partners out of business). Furthermore, trust at this level is maintained because it is required by both parties… neither could achieve their success without the other also being successful.
4. The third rung on the ladder becomes a “Test of Support.” Staying there depends on levels of respect. Though each partner-in-trust may have different goals, at least one of the partners deepens their respect for the goals of the other and thus will make sure they do not do anything to hinder the other from reaching their goals, perhaps even modifying their own goals.
5. The final rung on the Ladder of Trust is the “Test of Love.” Here, at least one of the partners becomes willing to sacrifice their own goals if the other party is threatened and doing so will help that partner flourish… like almost every mother I know who would give their life if needed to save their child, ensuring that child a chance to reach their life’s goals.

The level of trust between environmental professionals and many of society’s movers and shakers is not very high. Even after decades of activity, there are still many not even willing to step onto the first rung. Perhaps that was easier to understand decades ago:

I remember being called into a senior VP’s office decades ago after solving a tricky environmental engineering dilemma. Thinking I was going to be thanked and congratulated for removing a barrier to development of a business unit, I was instead interrogated; “Are you the person calling the regulators and sharing our dirty laundry with them?” to which I could only reply, “What dirty laundry? And what is this all about? I thought we were on the same team and my job was to make it easier for us to stay in business while also protecting the environment.” There were no answers. Without understanding anything about the Ladder of Trust, I found myself thrown onto the Floor of Distrust where I stayed for a long time.

However even in this past decade, some of society’s movers and shakers still think that the environmental professional is trying to displace them:

After I proposed a sustainability platform, the VP retorted, “I don’t get it. The only purpose of an environmental staff is to keep us out of trouble. It’s my job to think of ways to grow the company, not yours!” Clearly I had attempted to change the rules of engagement, to step onto a different ladder than this person was willing to support.

But all is not lost. Trust can still be had. It just takes time, patience, and using the visual of ladders presented here, planning. If others are not willing to reach out to us to develop trust, we must reach out to them. After all the people on this planet are not our enemies, they are all partners in relationship with the same ecosystem that we are. We just need to climb with them one rung at a time.

“Trust men and they will be true to you. Treat them greatly and they will show themselves great.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

“You may be deceived if you trust too much, but you will live in torment if you do not trust enough.” Frank Crane, turn of the century (ca. 1900) Presbyterian minister.