Talking about trust is tough in business. When a colleague tells you, “I don’t trust you” your first instinct is probably to react defensively or aggressively. Rarely do we respond with curiosity and an openness to understand. You may take “I don’t trust you” as an attack on your character and an affront to your integrity. But trust is the foundation for strong, productive relationships, teams, and organizations so it’s imperative that if you are told you are untrustworthy you need to change that fast.

In my research assessing hundreds of teams, I found that 70% of the variance between high and low performing teams centers on the quality of relationships of the team members. Additionally, top teams are 50 times more likely to successfully build and maintain trust than their less productive cousins. It’s nearly impossible to achieve common goals, talk about the toughest challenges, or collaborate across the organization without high trust.

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