Trust and Competence

I saw a quick article in our little newsletter that focused on Trust. It discussed Drivers of Trust and went forward to say that there are three drivers of trust: 1) Perceived Ability/Competence, 2) Benevolence/Care Not Driven by Ego, and 3) Integrity. 

I've seen that in many ways, . . . the way that trust can erode or elevate organizations, relationships, and communities. I've seen it and been a part of both erosion and elevation. It's this first one, the first driver, the one that discusses competence that I'm going to focus on here. 

About this driver of trust, the article said:

Perceived Ability/Competence: believing, in the abilities and capabilities of our peers and colleagues. The confidence we place in them ("I know you can!")

I had to deal with someone at one of my organizations who did not trust me to do my job, and truthfully, I didn't trust him to do my job either. I felt he was perfectly good at his job, it was when he would impinge upon my job that things became dicey. 

I've worked at other organizations where there was a similar dynamic, but the older I get the more I realize that in some cases I might actually be better at doing not just my job, but the job of that other person too, and boy oh boy did that cause challenges. Here's someone who is interfering in my domain, where I don't think they're even handling their own work well. Worse, I felt I could have done their job better. 

Here's the rub.

The fact that this person was interfering with my job and trying to do it better obviously means she didn't trust me . . . and that she didn't think I was competent at my job,  . . . or that she felt she could have done a better job in my position. So the same feeling I had, was what she felt too. Now, I think I could have backed up my beliefs with data, I'm sure she felt she could have done the same in reverse. 

One of the hardest things I ever did was trust others to do a job I felt I could have done better. It's incredibly hard to extend that level of trust, but as a leader, it's incredibly important to do so. I review courses constantly as a part of my job. Some are not what I would want to see. I like my courses to be clean, precise, and incredibly consistent. There are some I see that have too much variety, too much color, too many changes in the template across the course. 

Who is right? 

No one is right. There is no right. There are just different opinions. Once a leader recognizes that their team can do as good a job or better and that their idea of quality is subjective in and of itself, then there's a better opportunity for trust to take hold.