Trust: The Foundation of a Healthy Community

As we work on cultivating our resilience with the habit of building community, we begin to realize that trust is a key component for healthy communities.

As Chapter 4 of Onward guides us, think about what trust has felt like in your personal and professional life. Call to mind someone you really trust. What led you to trust him? What do you think has led others to trust you?

This video of a Cirque Du Soleil couple provides a visual to Elena Aguilar’s definition of trust. Trust is an emotional state. It is the feeling of confidence we have in another’s character and competence. Given that so much of the dysfunction in organizations can be traced back to a lack of trust, we need to spend time understanding this emotional state.

A great place for you organization or team to start is with this Indicators of Trust in Schools assessment from Elena’s The Art of Coaching Teams.

Indicators of Trust in Schools

This assessment will allow your team members to process trust in relation to their colleagues, administrators, and the school community as a whole. As Elena shares in The Art of Coaching Teams, this will help you asses trust at your site. You can use this tool for self-reflection and also to understand other team members’ perspectives. You might find that individuals hold different perceptions of the level of trust that exists in your school.

Interested in learning more about building resilient communities that transform schools? Attend one of our The Art of Coaching Teams trainings this fall.