Trust is a prediction

I want to talk about trust.

During my Successful Junior Lawyer Project, one partner told me this:

“During your first year, treat the lawyers like clients. Be well organized. Have a great attitude. Be proactive. That becomes table stakes by second or third year. After that, the expectation is sound judgment. Recognizing the decision points is half the battle. There must be trust.”

That stuck with me.

Trust matters not just for junior associates, but for partners, spouses, entrepreneurs, parents — anyone who works with other humans.

And here’s the part we often miss: trust has an object.

When we say “I trust [person],” what we really mean is:
I trust them to do X / say Y / react Z.

If I say, “I trust Megan” (my spouse), what I’m really saying is:

• I trust her to keep her promises.

• I trust her to look after our kids.

• I trust her judgment and decision-making.

When I said, “I trust Aliyah” (a fantastic then-junior lawyer I worked with), I meant:

• I trust her to do what she says she’ll do, when she says she’ll do it — and to do it well.

In both cases, trust is a prediction (covering areas important to our relationships). And confidence that the prediction will hold.

Now contrast that with my kids’ school bus driver.

She’s often on time. Usually cheerful.
But once or twice a month, she simply doesn’t show up — without notice.

So even though she often delivers, I don’t trust her to show up every day. Because sometimes, she doesn’t.

In your career, with clients, they must trust you to deliver quality work reliably. You may get the benefit of the doubt at the very beginning, but the only way you’ll get — and keep — that trust is by earning it consistently.

Once you’ve got that mastered, you can focus on being trusted to:
• listen
• show empathy and understanding
• have time when it matters

Trust is earned, one prediction at a time.