Are You Worthy of Trust?

For the orator to produce conviction three qualities are necessary… good sense, virtue, and goodwill.

– Aristotle (Rhetoric, Book II)

Nestled in Aristotle’s lecture notes on rhetoric from the 4th Century BCE, we find his little gem—the idea that we trust other people when we perceive them to have practical wisdom, solid values, and a caring disposition.

Fast forward 2,300 years. In the early ‘90s, three scholars in Indiana teamed up to review over 40 years worth of scientific research on what factors contribute to trust. The team identified three factors of trustworthiness: ability, integrity, and benevolence.

Looks like Aristotle was on to something.

In the decades since publication, these three factors have continued to be validated multiple times and currently serve as the foundation of ongoing scientific studies of trust. There’s nothing magic about these three words. In their effort to consolidate the data, the researchers simply grouped the words used in each of the studies and found that they loosely fit into these three buckets. This is useful for academia, but how do we make these factors more applicable to our everyday experiences?

After digging into the primary research with an eye toward practical application of these ideas, I offer two suggestions:

1. Think “Competence” instead of “Ability.” The mere ability to do something isn’t enough to instill confidence; one needs the ability to do it well. They get around this in the research by enhancing the common definition of ability.

2. Think of “Integrity” as a combination of “Authenticity” and “Dependability.” Everyone loves the idea of integrity, but it’s hard to define in the everyday. However, being who you say you are (authenticity) and doing what you say you will do (dependability) are concepts everyone can get their head around.

Benevolence is useful as it stands. It elegantly connotes the mindset, attitude and action required to genuinely help others.

That leaves us with four useful elements of trustworthiness:

• Authenticity

• Benevolence

• Competence

• Dependability

In other words, these are what we are unconsciously looking for when deciding whether to trust someone. Likewise, they are the elements others are looking for in us before they decide to trust.

So, if you’re a leader who wants to win the trust of those you lead, it’s worth doing a self-audit on how well you show up in each of these categories.

For Reflection: Of the four elements, which do you think is your strongest and which do you think is your weakest?