By River Meyer, SelfDesign® Director of Organizational Learning & Culture
Within SelfDesignLearning Foundation, we believe in the importance of professional and personal development through continuous learning. One of the offerings we provide to our contractors is called Community Conversation. These sessions, held on an online meeting platform, cover a variety of topics and are a setting for interaction and discussion.
At a recent conversation, one of our Board members, Lara Kehler, brought a model called the Trust Triangle. The discussion centred around why trust is an important ingredient in both personal and professional environments, as well as how trust is created. Lara led us through different aspects of trust and how it is built from three elements: authenticity, logic and empathy.
Lara discussed how a sense of authenticity is transmitted when a person brings clear intentions, integrity, appropriate openness and genuine personal qualities to a situation. Logic is shown through demonstrations of reasoning and judgement that others can recognize. And empathy is built when a person imparts sensitivity and understanding within their interactions. Seeing these three elements as parts of a triangle gave participants an opportunity to notice the interconnectedness of the elements.
During the session, attendees were able to break into small groups and discuss how they experience trust and which of the three elements are most important to them. Exploring personal patterns, they were able to reflect on both their own requirements for trust and the ways they can build trust with others.
A visible model like the Trust Triangle offers a framework that is easily remembered. People can use it to check their level of trust in any situation, as well as notice how they can best offer the elements to others. In SelfDesign, trust is an important quality throughout our organization, building on primary elements of our philosophy for learning and living. Community Conversations like this one help build the strength of our relationships, and they align with the values that SelfDesign Learning Foundation holds strong as we continue to grow and evolve.
