Trust in the Age of AI: Building It Is Up to Us
As AI begins handling more of the transactional work of business, the human capacity to build trust becomes even more valuable. Trust is fundamental to any endeavor that requires risk (What will happen if I lose?), innovation (If this doesn’t have the outcome we expect, what will happen to me and my job?) and collaboration (Will we be able to work together successfully?).
In his book “Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind,” historian and philosopher Yuval Noah Harari explains that Homo sapiens survived when other human species didn’t not because we were better at competition, but because we were better at collaboration: working together for a common goal, common good or common cause. Put simply, human species that could not trust each other enough to collaborate died.
I recently had the opportunity to work with two C-suite executives. Mike was responsible for sales, Ray for operations. Each had created a silo: They did what was minimally necessary for their departments, but it was clear each had something “stuck in their craw.” The CEO asked me to help them smooth things over.
I sat with Mike first.
Me: What’s going on between you and Ray?
Mike: I don’t like him. I’ll do what I need to do to keep things moving forward, but I just don’t like him.
Me: What don’t you like about him? Did he do something that bothers you?
Mike: He just doesn’t care about anyone or anything other than himself and his team. He doesn’t support my team or take interest in them; sales is the lifeblood of this organization.
Then I went to speak with Ray.
Me: What’s going on between you and Mike?
Ray: He rubs me the wrong way. I’m doing what needs to be done to support his sales team, but he doesn’t make it easy.
Me: What’s he doing that’s making it more difficult?
Ray: He doesn’t communicate. He expects my team to do all the digging and chasing him and his team down for sales numbers. He’s just not open or transparent.
In short, Mike didn’t believe Ray had concern for Mike or his team. Ray didn’t believe Mike was open or transparent with Ray or his team. In a relatively brief interaction, both had given me the starting point to working with them.
The Formula for Trust
There is a framework for building, establishing and repairing trust that has always been important, but has become even more important in the age of AI.
Risk represents any kind of potential loss or vulnerability. Experience comes down to four everyday behaviors:
- Reliability (metrics and getting things done as you say they will be done)
- Openness (transparency and authenticity)
- Competence (people having the skillsets they need in order to succeed)
- Concern (people taking a genuine interest in each other)
The more risk you are asking of someone, the more experience they must have with you. Of the four components of trust, most companies focus on reliability and competence. But companies with strong cultures where trust is foundational focus on all four.
What the Trust Formula Revealed
Mike had doubts about Ray’s concern: “He just doesn’t care about anyone or anything other than himself and his team.” Ray, in turn, questioned Mike’s openness: “He doesn’t communicate. … He’s just not open or transparent.”
They wanted and expected different things from each other. While they couldn’t see they were at cross purposes, it was affecting everyone else on their respective teams. Armed with that information, I asked them to do one simple thing: Have stand-up meetings (10 minutes or less) twice a week. On Mondays, they would discuss their collaborative goals and ROCC aspirations for the coming week. On Fridays, they would discuss how they met (or did not meet) those goals and aspirations. Mike focused on ensuring Ray received the openness that was so important to him. Ray focused on ensuring Mike received the concern he needed.
The results?
- They better understood each other.
- They were able to lower their resistance and feel less risk.
- They were able to bring down their silo walls and build trust not only between them but for their teams as well.
Trust Is the Building Block
What applied to us as a species in the past still applies to us today. Trust is a component of human wisdom that will be required in the age of AI and beyond. When we build groups, teams, departments and institutions based on collaboration rather than competition, we build ecosystems that sustain us even during adverse and uncertain economic times.
In the age of AI, trust will not be built by AI. It will be built by humans, for humans. It is how modern humans have succeeded on this planet for the last 200,000 years. It is how we will continue to succeed into the future.
This article is part of a series on the human capabilities that AI cannot replicate. I’ve already covered the importance of connection. And we’ll be tackling these topics in coming weeks:
Accountability — Redefined as transparency, so that everyone can see contributions
Curiosity — Asking better questions in an answer-abundant world
Discernment — Separating signal from exponentially increasing noise
Integration — Turning information into meaning and alignment
Delegation — Orchestrating humans and AI effectively
Innovation — Reframing problems to create better solutions
Adaptability — Building the muscle to continuously evolve as we are wired to do
I’d love to hear your questions and comments. If you would like to discuss this topic further, just drop me a note.
