By: Luis Diego Loaiciga V

CEO

AMERICAN TALENT JOBS

In the 90s, Antony had a job as a sales representative for a major trans- national logistics company and was recently appointed responsible for a coastal area of the thriving Costa Rica. For Antony, it was a big step in his budding professional career, and being honest with himself, he had no idea how to achieve the exceptional results that were required of him in that remote tourist town. The first two months were a complete failure in terms of results. His bosses were not known for their patience, and Antony was aware of this.

One afternoon, absorbed in his thoughts, Antony walked from his small bungalow to do some basic shopping at the local store. Already in the store, standing in the cashier’s line, he observed another customer, an older man, who was trying to juggle his purchases and his daughter in his arms. Suddenly, logic prevailed; the purchases rolled around the small store amidst the distress of the sorry father, who made a huge effort to ensure that his daughter did not suffer the same fate. Without thinking twice, Antony put his own purchases aside and quickly went around the store, retrieving what had fallen, which had conveniently landed in every corner of the small store. After the tense moment, and with most things recovered, the situation turned into a pleasant conversation between the young executive and the mature father, who received Antony’s bu- siness card “in case he ever needed to send any packages.” Both went their separate ways. Two days later, Antony received a call at his office. That father turned out to be the director of a huge hotel group, who was visiting the development of a six-star hotel in the area, and who, grateful for the help received, scheduled a meeting to coordinate all the logistics of moving anything needed for the hotel, as everything had to be mo- ved from other areas or countries since it is a small coastal zone. From curtains, furniture, kitchen equipment, and everything else, needed to be moved to the hotel under construction. Antony got tired in the next 24 months of receiving recognitions, bonuses, and awards from that day on for his sales achievements. Why that anonymous customer decided to contract such a contract? Antony asked in one of his meetings, and the answer he received was: “because you showed me respect without knowing me, that made me trust you.” Respect and trust are values that are born individually, but one is the result of the other. Thanks to respect, we begin to generate relationships. And established these, we begin to believe and feel secure. This is trust. Respect generates trust and trust generates long-term relationships. Today we are witnessing a reality in personal and professional environments with a deep crisis of values. And we forget that, just as primary colors are the basis of the beautiful spectrum of colors that surrounds us, values were, are, and will be the pillars of more, better, and more solid relationships between human beings. Back to the roots! When we instill respect in our families and companies, especially in the new generations, we are planting the seed of people who will know how to be reliable and therefore success- ful. If in our personal environment there is an atmosphere of responsibi- lity, within which each member knows their rights, and they…

If in our personal environment there is an atmosphere of respon- sibility, in which each member knows their rights and their duties, we create the ideal environment for trust to flourish and bear fruit. When we trust someone, we assume beyond any doubt that that person will be consistent in their actions and words, uncertainty can be eliminated because there is certainty in predicting their behavior in the most com- plex situations. In business environments, adding team members who give and receive respect, and therefore become trustworthy, will have a positive impact on the organization’s results. Volkswagen – 87 billion in losses -, Enron 638 million in losses, World.com 107 billion in losses, FTX – 32 billion in losses – remind us that even the most reliable and praised companies can collapse in a matter of months or weeks. Why? Because to live values, we must learn to maintain them in our day-to-day lives so that they become part of our lives. It has been shown that 80% of internal frauds are committed by employees at medium and low levels, 20% by executive level employees. However, this 20% is responsible for 80% of the total losses, that is, the smaller number of frauds carried out by the executive level has an economic impact four times higher than that carried out by the other levels in the organization. Aren’t those executive positions in which we usually have the most trust? In 1962, the Nobel Prize in Economics Milton Friedman, in his book “Capitalism and Freedom”, stated that companies should not have any social responsi- bility, and that they should only be accountable to their shareholders. What an impulse he gave to many of that generation of managers! The- se ideas gave legitimacy to business management based on disrespect for colleagues, suppliers and customers, the results we saw there in the great crisis of 2008. That collapse forced us to rethink the way things are done, and today we advocate for leadership based on respect for all components of the ecosystem. Mahatma Gandhi said: “Keep your values positive because your values become your destiny.” Trust (which arises from respect) is the basis for decision making and action of indi- viduals and groups within a society or company. They promote positive action for the improvement of each person and coexistence. The recipe for respect is a little simpler than it seems: it has three basic ingredients: tolerance, consideration, and recognition. And it must be applied to co- llaborators, suppliers and customers, the ecosystem does not allow half measures, if you apply it partially you are guaranteed failure.

We’re going a little deeper. Respect is related to social intelligence and is linked to emotional intelligence. It requires being aware of the motivations and feelings of others, observing what makes us different with respect and acting accordingly. This in turn helps us to better un- derstand and guide our behavior.

Many times, you have probably seen someone demand respect, or you have demanded respect yourself. It is important to understand that respect is not something that is demanded. It is only through our res- pect that we can earn the respect of others (also knowing that this does not guarantee it).

And how do we convert that respect into trust?

–  When respect has been established as a way of interacting with others, it is easier to trust them.

–  When trust is established, it is easier to work together to achie- ve common goals.

–  Trust allows for open communication, which leads to better un- derstanding and problem solving.

–  Trust creates a positive environment where people are motiva- ted to do their best.

–  Trust allows for risk-taking, which is necessary for innovation and growth.

–  In summary, respect and trust are closely related, and they are essential for a positive and productive environment in personal and professional settings. Building respect through tolerance, consideration, and recognition will naturally lead to trust,

When you establish respect as a way of interacting with your peers, you are creating a safe emotional space. In that environment, people will feel comfortable giving their opinions, and that’s where trust begins to be built! Clear rules! Play fair. In any relationship, there will be differences of opinion, how you handle them will determine whether you strengthen or destroy trust. An old saying goes, “Better an bitter truth than a sweet lie.” Be brutally honest without exception. No one will respect someone who usually lies to achieve their goals. Few things have as positive an impact on people as the certainty of feeling trusted. Phrases like “I belie- ve in you and I’m with you, I’m on your side, and you have my support” strengthen the bond between people, feed the survival instinct and the limbic system, generate commitment and obligate reciprocity. Lastly, be consistent in your actions in any situation, small concessions in your ac- tions break the trust someone may have in you. It is a basic survival skill to have the respect and support of our loved ones, that environment of psychological well-being and mental health fills us with oxytocin, the hormone of love, happiness, and ultimately social connectivity. Lastly, we should not misinterpret and assume that needing the trust of others makes us dependent on external affirmation, quite the opposite! It is a basic pillar of human relationships, the child needs it from their parents in their growth and development of autonomy, self-esteem and security, couples need it to solidify their relationship, companies need it to achie- ve their goals. The causality consists in that it has a universal character, and the law of causality is the universal law of the material world. This means that there is no single phenomenon that is not subordinate to this law, The law of causality knows no exceptions. If something has happe- ned, look for the cause: without it, nothing arises in the world. Do you want causality in companies? If you nurture the value of respect, you will see the value of trust in its fullness.