We held Quaker study sessions on the theme of Building Trust. The inspiration comes from a workshop Mylene attended at Pendle Hill, called Building Organizational Trust: Working With and Through Others. They had the pleasure of learning from facilitator Clinton Pettus, who presented many interesting ideas as well as a well-crafted process.
In presenting what they had learned at the workshop, they repeated some of the questions and exercises Pettus used. Interesting discussions arose around these:
- In what situations is trust important to you?
- What are some examples of people you trust, and why?
- What are some examples of organizations you trust, and why?
- What are some examples of social organizations you trust, and why?
Some of the techniques for building trust that they took from the workshop were
- Learn to observe others’ actions without assuming their motivations
- Support people in the way they want to be supported, not the way I want to support them
- Attend to emotions, needs, and values before ideas, interpretations, and action
Have you tried these techniques? How did they work? What techniques do you use for building trust?
The report Mylene wrote about their learning gives more details, why they sought it out in the first place, and how they’ve incorporated it over the year since then.
Thank God Somebody Finally Heard Me: Some Ideas on Building Trust
Why “feeling heard” can help build organizational trust, mediate conflict, improve mental health, promote learning, and save the world… with specific ideas about how to do it
Feel free to use the comments to share your thoughts about the questions above, the report itself, or wherever else this topic takes you.
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