By Steve Moran
I recently published a sobering article titled “No One Trusts You.” The data is daunting and depressing, but there is good news …
Once you accept this reality, you can do something about it, and because most people don’t do anything about it, you have the ability to have people see you as a standout leader and your organization as a standout organization.
Before we get to the how, I want to remind you that the lack of trust you are experiencing is not your fault. I hope …
Here’s what I mean. The people you’re trying to reach didn’t decide to distrust you. They were trained to distrust everyone. They got surprise-billed by their doctor. Their employer announced layoffs on a Tuesday after telling everyone the company was family. The salesperson at the last place they looked smiled too much and knew all the right answers to questions they hadn’t asked yet.
You’re not dealing with a fresh audience. You’re dealing with people who’ve been burned, and you just happen to be next in line.
I am guessing you have some of this distrust as well and know what I am talking about.
This matters because the solution isn’t better messaging. In fact, if you try to message your way out of a trust problem, you’ll make it worse. People who are already skeptical can smell a polished pitch from across the room. The solution is behavior. Specifically, a handful of behaviors that research shows actually move the needle.
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