Rol,
> To me, there is an element of
> paternalism in the word trust. I cringe when I hear a subordinate say
> they trust me. I think they mean they trust me to look out for them.
> Well, of course, to some extent I do, but that is not my job. I also feel
> they are abdicating to me responsibilities they should be taking on for
> themselves. So in my view, "trust" means "you will take care of me."
Each person may mean a different thing by "trust". Ane one person may
mean different things at different times.
When it is important to get meaning right (and any message from
subordinates that makes you cringe is important to get right), I use The
Rule of Three Interpretations: "If I can't think of at least three
interpretations for what someone has said, I need to think some more." You
have one (possibly correct) interpretation for when a subordinate says, "I
trust you." Can you think of at least two others?
Thinking of three possible interpretations is just to loosen up my
thinking. If I want to be sure, I need to check my interpretation with
the other person. Can you find out what the person means by "I trust
you?" Can you get a more specific message, such what the person trusts
you to do or be, and what trust means?
Regards,
Dale
--Dale H. Emery -- Collaborative Consultant High Performance for Software Development Projects E-mail: dale@dhemery.com Web: http://www.dhemery.com
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