Without trust, your success is left to chance and luck.
Trust is an essential ingredient for partnerships, critical in making successful selections, and important to gain when establishing a relationship.
Trust = (Credibility x Intimacy) / Risk
Credibility:
Previous experience and competency, if only perceived, references, reputation, and credentials all build credibility. Listen and speak your partner's language when talking. Without credibility in the area you are looking to play, you will struggle to attract followers on your journey.
The better your reputation, the easier it is to establish credibility.
Intimacy:
Represents the closeness needed with your partners and teams to establish your acceptance. Without good relationships, you will not be able to create the openness required to discuss and help improve your customer's situation.
The better you know someone, the easier it is to trust you.
Risk:
No journey is without risk, and as a leader, you will need to be able to openly identify and address real and perceived risks. You always need to anticipate pitfalls and roadblocks around the corner and guide your partner on how to work around them.
The higher the risk, the harder you have to work on earning trust.