Building Virtual Trust

Team building…relationship building…professional rapport…they’re all based on the same common foundation called trust.  These dynamics are created from a central recipe that blends intuition, respect, watchfulness and outcomes. The natural evolution of many business relationships starts with a phone call, followed up with electronic communication and ultimately ends with face-to-face interaction.  All along the way, our “business mind” is gathering and storing data about these interactions to determine if the individual is worthy of our trust. 

 With the introduction of virtual technology, we are still able to get some “sense” of the other person, but valuable information may still be missing.  Data like the “handshake’ information, non-verbal and body language information and even information from their aura or “vibes” are minimal…until a physical meeting occurs.  Presently, many work teams and business interactions remain in the “virtual world” without the opportunity of physical interaction ever occurring.  So how do we establish and build trust without gathering all of the relevant information we rely on?  How do you “know” that the talking-head interacting with you from a monitor or phone screen is the “real deal”?

 Our first task is to understand what the concept of “trust” really means.  What does it look like? Feel like?  For some, the belief is that most humans are inherently well-intentioned, so trust is freely given until and unless it is broken.  Others take the view that faith is not to be vested in an individual until it has been duly earned.  Either way, the “feeling” of trust lies in the perception that the other individual seeks similar outcomes in their interactions with you.  Trust is grounded in the realization of an individual’s competence and character.  Are you on the “same page” so to speak and will deliver what’s promised or expected?  In the virtual realm, competence is demonstrated when experiences, both personal and professional are deemed valid.  We allow others to “see” our modus operandi for handling situations.  Character, then, is assessed by the process we use to get results; our value system.  This value system must also be validated.

 As with any relationship, the depth of rapport is proportional to the level of trust established.  In virtual rapport building, storytelling…or the sharing of experiences... offer customers and colleagues an opportunity to determine if intentions are genuine.  A viable strategy for making that determination may be to ask questions-of-depth: 

• Can you validate their competence and character?
• Do you have similar or agreeable business processes?
• What level of risk are you willing to accept for the relationship?
• If trust cannot be established, what’s your next step?

 Stephen M.R. Covey sums it up best: “Contrary to what most people believe, trust is not some soft, illusive quality that you either have or you don’t; rather, trust is a pragmatic, tangible, actionable asset that you can create.”