Trustworthiness

Written by Josiah Birchard

Trust.

Trustworthiness.

These words have a powerful impact within our lives whether it be at work or outside of work. Can your friends or loved ones TRUST you to be on time? Can your boss TRUST you to meet a deadline? You can try to find those answers when you take a second and reflect on your own reputation.

Let’s start outside of work.

Being reliable is so important. Do you bow out of plans at the last minute or when something that sounds more interesting or more fun comes up? The answer to that question starts to show where improvement can be made. Following up on commitments builds trust in a strong way. Your reputation of being a trustworthy person grows and grows with every commitment that is completed.

Being supportive of those around you also builds trust. Being a person that others can confide in shows that you care about them and what they have to say. A person that someone can confide in opens a whole other tier of friendship.

Now let’s apply trustworthiness to work.

               Open communication in the workplace may not be the most complicated of things, but it is one of the most important. Inform your boss or peer of exactly what is going on using clear and open communication. Leaving nothing to misinterpretation is an easy way of gaining trust from others at work.

               Taking responsibility is a large factor of trustworthiness as well. People make mistakes. People mess up. Owning up to mistakes and taking responsibility makes you accountable. When coworkers know you’re accountable, they can trust you.

               Being a team player helps increase trustworthiness as well. Working at a small company, I am aware of how important it is to be a team player. One person may end up wearing many hats. Working together is a helpful way to inform your team members that they can trust you.