How to Build Trust – and – Reduce Trust Deficit

 TRUST DEFICIT 

“Old Fogies” like me feel dismayed at the increasing TRUST DEFICIT in all spheres of life, at both the macro and micro level. 

It seems that no one trusts each other. 

This trust deficit is visible at all levels, in organizations, in politics, in personal relationships too.

I am quite an open person. 

My well-wishers often scold me: 

“Why do you tell everything about yourself to everyone...?” 

“To build trust...” I say. 

Yes – “Self Disclosure” builds Trust. 

On the other hand – “Secrecy” breeds Mistrust. 

Trust is most important in all relationships – Personal, Professional and Social. 

Trust is especially important in Marriage. 

In fact – Trust is more important that Love. 

“Should you tell your would-be spouse everything about your past...?”

“Should you share your sexual past with your soon-to-be spouse?”

“Should you tell your would-be spouse about your “ex”...?”

The answers are obvious – you should tell your would-be spouse everything.

But – does everyone do so...? 

Trust matters on Social Media too. 

Those who disclose more about themselves are trusted more than those who are secretive or try to hide behind anonymity. 

Here is an article I wrote many years ago on “How to Build Trust and Reduce Trust Deficit”... 

HOW TO BUILD TRUST IN RELATIONSHIPS (AND REDUCE TRUST DEFICIT)

Trust Management Using JOHARI WINDOW

By

VIKRAM KARVE

From my Academic (Management Lecture) Archives:

For many years – I used to teach and lecture on the applications of the JOHARI WINDOW in various aspects of management – especially in project management – and all facets of relationship management.

My observations for many years made me realize that one of the major problems in relationships, both personal and professional – at home and at work – is the increasing TRUST DEFICIT. 

So, a few years ago I wrote an article on how to reduce TRUST DEFICIT (and build Mutual Trust) using the JOHARI WINDOW. 

On request from an erstwhile student of mine – I am re-posting the article on application of the JOHARI WINDOW in reducing TRUST DEFICIT – which I had written long back based on my management lectures – and which I had posted on my blog a few years ago.

As always – I will appreciate your comments, views and feedback.

TRUST MATTERS

I trust people.

Depending on the way you look at it, one of my chief virtues (or shortcomings) is that I trust people. 

That is why it is easy for anyone to take me for a ride, and make an “April Fool” of me, as so many have done.

Yes – I have a trusting nature.

That’s why I did not try my hand at business.

By nature – I am an honest, straightforward, outspoken person and I like to be transparent.

I am not a “smooth operator”.

I do not have the “talent” to indulge in one-upmanship.

I do not possess the “tact” to be opaque, secretive and “diplomatic”.

It is because of my trusting nature that have I avoided taking up a profession where one has to put on a mask of pretense, hide things, indulge in mendacity and be Machiavellian to succeed.

In the Navy of yesteryear – we trusted each other.

Yes – Naval Officers of the “old-mould” attached great value to Trust.

In fact – mutual trust was the main factor on which the Navy system worked.

On a ship – everyone trusted the Captain – and – the Captain in turn trusted his officers and crew.

Sailors trusted Officers –and – in return – Officers trusted Sailors.

It has been my experience that trust is the key ingredient in any relationship, personal or professional – and – it is always best to associate with trustworthy individuals.

Trust is greater than Love.

That is why arranged marriages based on trust may be more enduring than marriages based purely on love.

Trust matters a lot at work too.

One of the plus points I experienced in my career in the Navy was the atmosphere of trust which made work stress-free, productive and enjoyable.

I feel that trust is the bedrock of a good relationship.

This is why “old fogies” like me feel dismayed at the increasing TRUST DEFICIT in all spheres of life, at both the macro and micro level.

It seems that no one trusts each other.

Opposition Parties do not trust the Government and vice versa.

There is mutual trust deficit between the military and bureaucrats. 

Organizations do not trust each other.

Bosses do not trust their subordinates and junior do not trust their seniors.

Even in personal relationships, trust deficit is on the rise.

Husbands and wives do not trust each other.

Parents do not trust their children and children do not trust their parents.

There is trust deficit between teachers and students too.

I do not know whether it is true, but a young Naval Officer told me that nowadays there is increasing Trust Deficit in the Navy too and he has seen cases where even course-mates do not trust each other.

The moot question, therefore, is: 

Can this problem of Trust Deficit be tackled and mitigated?

Are there any methods to reduce Trust Deficit?

Well, let me suggest one method – JOHARI WINDOW

For many years I have taught and lectured on the applications of the JOHARI WINDOW in various aspects of management, especially in project management and all facets of relationship management.

My observations for many years made me realize that one of the major problems in relationships, both personal and professional, at home and at work, is the increasing TRUST DEFICIT.

 

So, a few months ago I wrote an article on how to reduce TRUST DEFICIT (and build Mutual Trust) using the JOHARI WINDOW.

On the request of some of my friends I am posting the article below once again. 

As always, I will appreciate your comments, views and feedback. 

TRUST and RELATIONSHIPS

“Should I tell my would-be spouse everything about my past?”

“Should I share my sexual past with my soon-to-be spouse?”

“Should you tell your spouse about your ex?”

These are common questions which arise in the minds of young people and you can see so many about-to-be married youngsters asking similar questions to “agony aunts”.

Conventional wisdom says that the answer is: 

“Yes. It is best to be open and honest with your spouse. Be transparent and do not hide anything. There should be no secrets between husband and wife.”

But – to my surprise – I have seen some “agony aunts” giving advice that “being totally honest may not always be desirable and it would be wise to hide your past affairs”...

I find this quite shocking. 

Trust is the bedrock of any relationship – especially a lifelong relationship like marriage – in fact – trust is the cement that bonds the marriage. 

Once trust is broken – the “cement” holding together the bonds will disintegrate – and the marriage will collapse like a pack of cards. 

How can you build a marriage on the foundations of mistrust...?

There is one more danger if you hide things and keep secrets from your spouse. 

You will forever live under the “Fear of being Found Out”...

The “fear of being found out” is a terrible fear – which causes great internal stress which can be detrimental to your health – both physical and mental. 

This – in turn – will adversely affect the marital relationship.

Trust deficit has the potential to totally destroy a relationship, and even if it does not totally destroy a relationship, trust deficit will certainly inhibit the relationship from realizing its full potential.

There was a Marathi Serial a few years ago on Zee TV Marathi called Tu Tithe Mee which depicts the dangers of hiding your past from your spouse. 

The story of Tu Tithe Mee portrays in dramatic fashion how a marriage can crumble once a husband unexpectedly finds out secrets about his wife’s past life that his wife has hidden from him.

The story shows how even the smallest seed of mistrust can amplify into a demon of suspicion and create huge distrust which can shake the very foundations of marriage.

It is not only in marriage – but – trust is the essential ingredient in any successful relationship. 

Whether that relationship is between two people, between husband and wife, boyfriend and girlfriend, between friends, between parents and children, between relatives, between neighbours and acquaintances or within a family.

Even at the Workplace – for optimal functioning – Trust is a must between boss and subordinate – between peers and colleagues – in project teams – in business and partnerships – in Customer Relationship Management (CRM) – and – all professional relationships.

In many cases – employers are secretive – and employees hide things from their employers – because of Trust Deficit. 

One example of Trust Deficit is the prevailing trend of “Pay Secrecy” in the Private Sector – particularly in MNCs and the IT industry.

In our daily life in Society too, whether it be in the social community, in sports teams, and at schools and colleges, between teachers and students, or a relationship in any facet of life – Trust Deficit can be detrimental.

At the macro level too – trust between the citizens and the government is essential for effective and efficient functioning of governance. 

Trust is the cardinal element that allows the relationship to function effectively.

That is why it is sad to see “Trust Deficit” everywhere. 

People do not trust each other anymore. 

Yes – we humans do not implicitly trust each other now-a-days. 

You can see absolute and total trust only in canine-human relationships – yes – dogs unconditionally trust their human masters and and most human beings trust their pet dogs too.

How can we reduce Trust Deficit...? 

How can we enhance Mutual Trust...?

Well – there is a management tool called JOHARI WINDOW which can help. 

HOW TO USE THE JOHARI WINDOW TO ENHANCE MUTUAL TRUST AND TO REDUCE TRUST DEFICIT

The concept of the Johari Window is relatively simple. 

Assume that you are the wife (self).

There are things about yourself that you know and there are things about yourself that you don’t know.

Also, there are things about you that your husband knows and there are things about you that your husband does not know.

Now it is the same with your husband (other). 

There are things about himself that he knows and there are things about himself that he does not know. 

Also, there are things about him that you know and there are things about him that you don’t know.

Now put yourself in the place of Self and put your husband in the place of Other and have a look at the picture below (called Johari Window based on contraction of the names Joseph Luft and Harry Ingham who developed this tool to help people understand and improve their interpersonal relationships). 

The TRUST in a relationship is directly proportional to the OPEN Area 

The other areas (HIDDEN, BLIND AND UNKNOWN) are sources of TRUST DEFICIT. 

Hence, in order to enhance TRUST  and reduce TRUST DEFICIT all you have to do is to increase the OPEN area (also called Arena) and reduce the HIDDEN Area (also called Facade) by Disclosure (Telling) and also reduce the BLIND area (also called Blind Spot) by obtaining Feedback (Asking). 

The UNKNOWN Area will also start reducing over time as the bonds of your mutual relationships become stronger and stronger and you get to know each other better and better.

TELL (disclosure) each other and ASK (feedback) each other and COMMUNICATE(give yourself interactive TIME together) to reduce the hidden, blind and unknown areas respectively.


 



Here is how the Johari Windows will look Before and After :


BEFORE

JOHARI WINDOW AT THE BEGINNING OF THE RELATIONSHIP 

[Open Area or Arena Represents TRUST and the other three areas (Blind, Facade, Unknown) represent TRUST DEFICIT]

AFTER

JOHARI WINDOW AFTER YOU WORK ON THE RELATIONSHIP

[Notice how the Open Area of Arena (TRUST) has increased and the other three areas (TRUST DEFICIT) are reduced]

So now you know what you must do in order to reduce Trust Deficit in a relationship.

Whether it is a home or at work or any other relationship.  

Just sit together and work on JOHARI Window. 

Both of you must use Self Disclosure and Feedback to enhance Mutual Trust and reduce Trust Deficit and consequently improve your relationship. 

After you succeed in a one-on-one (two person) situation, you can extend this technique to multiple participants too.

This works for me. 

Why don’t you try out the JOHARI WINDOW and see if it works for you. 

Try it out with your boss and colleagues at work. 

If you are in the service industry try it out with your customers, and if you are in business, try it out in your business relationships.

Try it out at home with your spouse and kids. 

If you are in a relationship, try it out with your boyfriend or girlfriend while dating and courting and having a relationship. 

When you make friends, remember that deep friendships based on Mutual Trust are more enduring and truly fulfilling than superficial “Hail-Fellow-Well-Met” type of casual friendships.

Did it work? 

Did the Johari Window Technique help build trust and reduce trust deficit? 

What was your experience?

Dear Reader: Please comment - I look forward to your views and feedback. 

VIKRAM KARVE

Copyright © Vikram Karve 
1. If you share this post, please give due credit to the author Vikram Karve
2. Please DO NOT PLAGIARIZE. Please DO NOT Cut/Copy/Paste this post
© vikram karve., all rights reserved. 

Disclaimer:

1. These are my personal views. Please do your own due diligence while applying these techniques.

2. All stories in this blog are a work of fiction. Events, Places, Settings and Incidents narrated in the stories are a figment of my imagination. The characters do not exist and are purely imaginary. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

Copyright Notice:

No part of this Blog may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopying or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the Blog Author Vikram Karve who holds the copyright.

Copyright © Vikram Karve (all rights reserved)

 

This is a repost of my article TRUST DEFICIT written by me around 30 years ago in the early 1990s and posted by me Vikram Karve online earlier at urls: http://karvediat.blogspot.in/2012/07/trust-deficit.html  and  http://karvediat.blogspot.in/2012/10/johari-window-how-to-reduce-trust.html  and  http://karvediat.blogspot.in/2014/01/trust-matters-how-to-build-trust-and.html and http://karvediat.blogspot.in/2016/08/how-to-build-trust-in-relationships.html and http://karvediat.blogspot.com/2018/02/how-to-build-trust.html  and https://karvediat.blogspot.com/2019/03/how-to-build-trust-and-reduce-trust.html and http://karvediat.blogspot.com/2019/11/relationship-management-how-to-build.html and https://karvediat.blogspot.com/2021/01/how-to-build-trust-and-reduce-trust.html etc 

© vikram karve., all rights reserved. 

The Politician and the Soldier – Story

Short Fiction

THE POLITICIAN AND THE SOLDIER

Story

By

VIKRAM KARVE

______

 

PROLOGUE

______

 

Dear Reader – before I start telling you the story of “The Politician and The Soldier” – let me first introduce myself – the narrator of this story.

Yes – I am the narrator of this rather curious story.

I am the politician’s “manager” – his “right-hand man” – his “major-domo” – his “all in one” assistant – or – if you wish to use more uncharitable terms – I am his flunkey – his lackey – his stooge – his minion – you can call me what you like – but I have become indispensable to him.

My “Master” – the politician – he is the “uncrowned king” of the place – wealthy – powerful – he controls everything – and – nothing moves here without his approval.

Everyone is terrified of him – including me.

_______ 

 

PART 1

_______

 

One evening the phone rings – the landline number.

I recognize the voice – it is the “Soldier”.

“Is he there…?” the soldiers asks me on the phone.

“Yes…” I say – and I connect the call.

The “soldier” speaks to the “politician” for around 5 minutes.

Then the “politician” summons me inside his office and says to me: “Is there anything in the evening…?”

“Yes…” I say, “you have to attend the party meeting followed by dinner…”

“Tell them I am not coming…” he says.

“Sir – it is a very important meeting – top party leaders are coming – the general-secretary will also be there – you must go there…” I say.

“Nothing is more important than my friend – I have already told him to come for dinner – you call up my wife and tell her to make something special – get whatever she wants from the market – and organize some good snacks to go with the booze…” he says.

“Sir – should I arrange some “Single Malt” Whisky…” I ask him.

“You have been with me for 3 years now – don’t you know – my friend will be getting a bottle of “Military Rum” for me…” the “politician” admonishes me.

_________

 

PART 2

_________

 

The “Soldier” arrives at 7 PM in the evening.

The “Politician” is genuinely delighted to see him.

“What have you got for me…?” the “politician” asks the “soldier”.

The “soldier” pulls out a bottle of rum from his bag.

“Ah…” the “politician” says, “let’s go inside and open the bottle…”

The “soldier” goes inside.

I look at the “politician” and say: “Sir – I have got all types of snacks – chicken dry fry, mutton kababs, fish fry, peanuts, pakoras etc. – and – I have briefed the servants how to serve them…”

“Good…” the “politician” says to me, “did you tell my wife…?”

“Yes, Sir – she is preparing a special meal…”

“Wonderful…” the “politician” says.

“Sir – I have informed them that you won’t be attending the meeting as you are indisposed…”

“Ha – Ha – “indisposed” – you have become an expert at inventing excuses…” the “politician” says, “you can go home now – if I want something – I will call you…”

“Thank you, Sir…” I say – and – I turn towards the office to lock it up.

The “politician” goes inside his house to join his friend – the “soldier”.

______

 

PART 3

______

 

NEXT MORNING

______

 

“How was the evening, Sir…?” I ask the politician.

“We really enjoyed ourselves till the wee hours of the morning…” he says.

“Sir – I have been wanting to ask you something for a long time – but I don’t have the courage to ask…?” I say.

“Come on – you have been with me for over 3 years now – you can ask anything you want…” he says.

“Sir – it is about your soldier friend – you always give him an immediate appointment – and you cancel everything – however important – just to spend time with him…” I say.

“He is my best friend…” the politician says.

“But, Sir – he is just a soldier – and – you are such an eminent person – so wealthy – so powerful – and – you only move in “high-society” – and – you eat and drink the best – but – when your soldier friend comes – you drink cheap military rum with him…” I say, “and yesterday – you cancelled a most important appointment – a crucial political meeting…”

“I told you once – my soldier friend is the most important thing to me – so – when he comes – other things just don’t matter…” the politician says.

The politician pauses – looks at me – and says:

“Okay – I know you are curious – today – I will tell you about our friendship. We – the soldier and I – we were classmates in school – best friends. After finishing school – both of us wanted to join the Army – so – when there was a recruitment rally – both us went there – we both wanted to join the Army…”

“Oh – so you too were in the Army – Sir…?” I say.

“No. He was selected – but – I was rejected…” the politician says.

“You were rejected – why…?” I asked him.

“Till today – I really don’t know why the rejected me…” the politician says, “they made us do all the tests – and – they selected him and rejected me…”

“You must have been disappointed…” I say.

“Yes – I was terribly disappointed – but – my friend was even more disappointed than me – and he said that he would not join the Army since I was not coming – you see – we had been inseparable friends since childhood…” the politician says, “but I convinced him to go and join the Army…”

“And you…? Sir…?” I ask him.

“Well – I did odd jobs – here and there – for a few years – and then – a political party asked me to do campaign work during elections – later – I joined that political party – and – the rest is history – as they say…” the politician says, “but throughout my bad days my friend would write to me and boost my morale…”

“And your friendship remains as strong as ever…” I say.

“Yes – whatever happens – we will always remain friends…” he says.

“Sir – if you don’t mind – I wanted to ask you if your soldier friend mentioned that he was in a bit of trouble – and – did he ask your help…?” I say.

“No – he didn’t say anything – what is the matter…?” the politician says, looking surprised.

“His family had taken a loan from the cooperative bank for their farm – they couldn’t pay back the loan – so – the bank had declared them as defaulters…” I say.

“Defaulter…? How do you know all this…?” he asks me.

“Sir – he is your close friend – and it is my job to keep track of such matters – I knew he would meet you when he came on leave – and probably ask your help…” I ask.

“You have not understood him – he will never ask for help – it is a question of dignity – he is a man of honor – a soldier – and – you have not understood our friendship – obligations can destroy the best of friendships…” he says.

“So – you are not going to help him…?” I ask the politician.

“Of course – I am going to help him – but he should not know that I have helped him – do you understand…?” the politician says, “you do one thing – pay off the entire outstanding loan and interest amount – and tell the bank manager to tell my soldier friend that his loan has been waived under some government scheme. No one should know that I have paid the money – do you understand…?

“Yes – Sir – it shall be done in a most discreet manner…” I say to the politician.

“That’s good…” the politician says, “you have done the right thing to inform me – keep a track of his family – in case they have any problems – especially when the soldier is away – in case they need something – but – remember – whenever you help them – do it quietly and anonymously…”

“Yes, Sir – may I go now…?” I say to the politician.

“Okay – keep be briefed…” he says.

_________

 On my way out – I smile to myself – even ruthless people have a compassionate side.

 _________ 

VIKRAM KARVE

Copyright © Vikram Karve 
1. If you share this post, please give due credit to the author Vikram Karve
2. Please DO NOT PLAGIARIZE. Please DO NOT Cut/Copy/Paste this post
© vikram karve., all rights reserved.

Disclaimer:

1. This story is a work of fiction. All stories in this blog are a work of fiction. Events, Places, Settings and Incidents narrated in the stories are a figment of my imagination. The characters do not exist and are purely imaginary. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

Copyright Notice:

No part of this Blog may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopying or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the Blog Author Vikram Karve who holds the copyright.

Copyright © Vikram Karve (All Rights Reserved)

© vikram karve., all rights reserved.

_____________