Trustworthiness

What are the attitudes and behaviors that go with loving other people? Previous blog posts discussed two of these, empathy and humility. This post is about trustworthiness, another characteristic of people who desire and work for the good of other people.

Eng’r. Marcelo Canitan, an electrical engineer and an entrepreneur, runs his own company. He is engaged by clients as a consultant, or to undertake projects. In one of his projects, he discovered a loophole that would have benefited him financially. And he was sure no one else, specially not the client, knew about it.

He decided to tell the client about it. It meant a loss of additional income for him, but his relationship with his clients was more important. By doing so, he gained something very important – the client’s trust.

The result of this incident was that, when the client had more projects, he got Marcelo’s company to hand these. He also referred his friends to Eng’r. Canitan.

Trustworthiness – being honest, reliable, consistent, principled – strengthens relationships. “When people know you stand by your word,” says Eng’r. Canitan, “they rely on you, not just in business, but in life.”

“Trustworthiness may not bring immediate rewards, but it builds a foundation that money can’t buy – credibility, respect, and lasting relationships,” he adds.

How to be trustworthy? We can all start by being honest. When you promise something, you keep your word. To your spouse, children, parents, colleagues, business partners – to everyone. It’s not always busy, but people who love other people chose to be honest – even when others are not, can’t not, or will not.