Ingredients of Trust

Economist Intelligence Unit published a "recommended reading" survey on business collaboration and the role of trust. Some predictable outcomes:

• Trust is seen as a key factor in collaboration, but the reality is often disappointing (classic difference between the ideal world and reality)
• Face to face collaboration is superior to virtual collaboration
• Good collaborators view their co-collaborators or partner organizations more positive – which underlines that positive attitude makes a good collaborator, and a happier one at that.
  

What I found interesting are the qualities that were used to break down trust:
Honesty, Willingness to exchange information, Ethical behavior, Shared objectives, Motivation, Respectfulness towards others, Positive Attitude, Ability to do a job well and Consideration of others were the most important factors, in this order. Less important according to the survey are expertise, communication skills, intelligence, experience, and whether someone works for a reputable organization. Experts in an organization are not necessarily trustworthy collaborators…
– These factors, especially the high-ranking ones, are interesting because if you want to improve trust, these are qualities you need to work on.

What is missing in the listing (because it is even more elusive!) is body language. Body language tells more about relations between two people than they may be consciously aware. Good collaborators intuitively will embody (in the true sense) openness and empathy. Unfortunately, most of this gets lost in virtual collaboration. This might be the main reason why virtual will never equal face to face collaboration.

...but with a little help, at least some of the body language finds its way back into virtual communication - emoticons may not be considered good style in business communication, but I am sure it helps. :P

Thanks for alerting me to the EIU survey to knowledgefutures