Relationship and Trust must be created every time two or more people are in conversation.
ERM is not a linear process, which means that Relationship and Trust is not something to simply check off a task list. It is something that people generate and cultivate based on the openness and authenticity of their conversations with one another.
What happens, even in the best of companies, is that teams get focused on deliverables and put Relationship and Trust in the background. They get too busy and don’t take the time to keep Relationship and Trust in existence. What usually occurs first is that the team begins to suffer in the delivery of their milestones. They can't figure out why, and they start to blame each other. This further deteriorates Relationship and Trust, which can create a vicious cycle of non-performance. The reality, however, is that at some point the team probably stopped demonstrating openness with one another and as a result were no longer working together in a way that brought them to the possibility in the first place.
The ERM Process builds and maintains the right team dynamics by building competency in:
- Establishing and maintaining trust as an assessment in four domains; competence, reliability, sincerity and ethical alignment
- Identifying causes of trust breakdowns
- Securing reliable promises
- Creating the ability to inquire as a way to enhance and maintain trust
- Cooperation, collaboration and coordination of action as sources of deep trust