My husband and I took our daughter, aka "the kid," to the surgical center to have her tonsils removed. We met the staff on a tour a few days earlier so there were a lot of hellos and high-fives as we checked in. A clothes change, a warm blanket and 45 minutes later, we were holding the kid's hands as she walked to the operating room with the anesthesiologist. We continued to hold her hands as he talked with her about the mask, placed in gently over her face and quietly guided her to sleep.

Talk about trust.

In a recent post, the hrbartender struggles with the concept of giving trust versus earning trust. She questions, "are most people willing to give trust unconditionally?" As I was leaving the operating room and walking to the doctor's waiting area, this very thought crossed my mind. Did we unconditionally offer our trust (and our daughter) to the staff of the surgical center? Did we do so too quickly?

No, we did not.  We have come to completely trust our pediatrician of 8+ years as a partner in our daughter's health. What did we base our trust on beyond him? Initially we based our trust on the medical profession but we ultimately based our on trust on research and reputation.

Before the surgery we trusted the providers and our trust continues after the surgery. We trust, but it is not unconditional. For us, the providers are in what the hrbartender referred to as ‘trust limbo.’ The providers were amazing with the kid, but I personally have go to see what a person is made of, over time, before unconditional trust can enter the relationship equation. 

This trust equation extends far beyond the provider-patient relationship and into every aspect of your personal and professional life. HR professionals, take a moment to consider your interactions, your reputation,  your decisions. How long do you keep people in 'trust limbo' with you?

Are you on the path to trust? 

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I originally posted this in June 2007 but it still holds true today.

What do managers do? That's a pretty broad question so let's take me for an example. I am a manager, what do I do? Well, when my daughter asked me that very question a few months ago, I started to think and came up with this, an example of my typical day. But that is not the whole story.

When I returned to work on Friday after spending the week away on business, I spent the first 1 1/2 hours at my desk doing one thing over and over and over again. No, I was not banging my head on the desk but close :). Sometime between Friday and today, I realized that I didn't mention this task in my recap of a typical day. How could I have left it off? What was I thinking?

Well, it can be a seemingly small task and something done routinely and often without thought. However, it really is much more than that. This is a task fraught with responsibility, accountability, and more. The first few times it was ceremonial, it was exciting and yes, I was young and naive. The novelty wore off rather quickly and now it has turned into something else. Let's just say that when I go down, it is going to be because of this task. When I go down, it is going to be for something that I signed. Yes, the thing that takes me down will have my name all over it. My signature will be my downfall.

I sign because that's what manager's do. Research your action, do the leg work, get the facts straight and when I ask, be prepared to answer with information not emotion. Yes, at times I absolutely do have to see everything in writing. Tip: DO NOT respond, "well you signed it" when asked about an action. This is about as non-recoverable as it gets for me.

I sign without much question or fanfare. Why? Because I trust you. Don't take that lightly. I don't.