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Not far from the magical-looking gumdrop mountains along the Li River in China, just outside of Guilin is Reed Flute Cave. I find caves intimidating, and this cave excursion was an option for the educational group I was traveling with. But, despite my apprehension of the unknowns, I decided to go along.
My concern was unwarranted. I was richly rewarded with a world of wonder and amazement, realizing early in the walk with a local guide that I should never have doubted what awaited would be worth pushing past my trepidation.
Stepping into the world of authentic trust-giving can feel like my cave experience—a little overwhelming, concerning, or threatening at times. But authentic trust offers unimagined wonders too. It opens pathways to mutually beneficial relationships. By its very nature, being in a genuine relationship with someone changes both you and the other person.
A door of possibility opens when a trusting relationship begins. What can you now accomplish, as trust evolves, that you wouldn't have been able to do without it? What new connections, insights, ideas, or opportunities will come to you or them as a result? How will the relationship enhance your understanding, learning, or growth, or those of the other person?
What you're able to achieve with trusted others is vastly different from what you can do alone. A wonderful world awaits. It's not a world of stalactites, stalagmites, and rock formations, but passion, engagement, and innovation; a world of personal depth, brightness, and possibility. Glimpse a few fruits trust can bring to you personally.
12 wonders authentic trust can bring you at work:
- Deep and genuine relationships
- Self-awareness and personal growth
- Well-being and enhanced optimism
- Individual and collective achievement
- Speed, enthusiasm, energy, and fun
- Reciprocity; being needed and "seen"
- Confidence in self and others
- Integrity, ethics; doing what's right
- Safe harbor for creativity, innovation, and risk-taking
- Beyond self; collective intelligence and its fruits
- Self-management and accountability
- Larger purpose and contribution
Similar to the wonders inside the earth, those that evolve from authentic trust grow slowly throughout time.
Work and business relationships are complex. So is authentic trust. Not because, as an emotional skill, authentic trust is difficult to understand or do. It's not. But it's confused with other kinds of trust. So much that, "Scholars continue to express concern regarding their collective lack of consensus about trust's meaning." Fortunately, the trust you'll need to create your own workplace wonders involves just one kind of trust: authentic.
