Trust is Key: Building Better Partnerships Rooted in Trust.

Last month, I had the opportunity to immerse myself in the work of Northern Illinois Food Bank’s Direct Connect program, a Retail Store Donation Program where food pantries are linked directly with retailers, providing access to quality products like produce and meats that would otherwise go to the landfill after being removed from grocery store shelves with significant shelf life left. During my time with the team I was able to participate in an organizationally famous (rightfully so) ride along with network connector and leader, Tom Hong. 

Tom’s role for the program is developing strong relationships with retailers and coaching them on how to maximize the amount of food they donate to food pantries. After our first partner retailer visit of the day, it was clear to me that Tom is an expert in cultivating trust intentionally, which in turn establishes strong, sustainable, and long-lasting partners. On our partner visit journey, I quickly figured out time moves fast and Tom is busy! But regardless of hectic schedules, Tom made it clear there is always time to engage with partners in meaningful ways which extend and build trust. At the end of our trip Tom said “Trust is key” below, I’ve outlined some of the key practices I witnessed on my trip that exercise intentional trust building.

Follow through. Follow up.

Tom’s first and last words in any partner visit is “How can we help you?”. In a partner visit, the focus is put on recognizing and listening to the partners needs and wants. Tom is a great listener which makes him a great network leader. Retail partners feel confident and comfortable to share concerns, requests, and ideas with Tom because they are heard and addressed in the room. Toms calls this follow through and follow up. In trust literature we call this reliability.

In our car debrief after visit three, I mentioned to Tom how I loved his wording of the question. Did you notice it? Individual trust and organizational trust are linked and influence one another. The difference in the question from “How can I help you?” to “How can we help you?” increases the overall trust in partnership of the entire organization. Making the relationships built today more sustainable for the organization in the future.  

The message shared is important - and it's okay to be third on the list.

Tom is an expert in the grocery industry. Before coming to the food bank, he held various positions within his community. He understands his partners, their work, and motivations - in trust research this is labeled competence.

Recognizing a partner's motivation is one thing, but outlining the message of the partners goals, and naming where you fit in, is what has allowed Northern Illinois to accelerate trust with their retail partners. The ‘ask’ Tom brings to retail partners looks different than you might expect, he isn’t looking for donated food to be the retail partners first thought - that isn’t their priority and it shouldn’t be. Tom says this, “I want to be third on your list: 1. Sell, sell, and sell  2.Upgrade for margin 3.Then donate.” This concept is also known as caring or benevolence, indicating that you are apart of a partnership with their best interest in mind. Tom’s industry awareness, messaging and acts of caring established opportunities for both parties to self-recognize ways they can interconnect while respecting one another's missions, goals, and expertise. 

Thank and celebrate.

We all know thanking our partners consistently and often is important, but what does it mean to celebrate our partners as we thank them? Tom pairs thanking with celebrations. These are meaningful moments which reflect on, acknowledge and honor the work completed by partners. They recognize and appreciate the assets partners bring to their collective work.

When you think about building trusting partnerships creating moments of honoring and naming the relationships is important. You can’t do everything, every second, every day to earn trust, but you can deepen the established trust with moments. Tom creates these moments by designing spirit sticks which outline the contributions partners have made to the Food Bank’s mission. He then makes a special trip to the store to celebrate the individuals who are receiving them.

Building trusting partnerships looks different and feels different. These partnerships leave space for vulnerability, have shared expectations, and release control. They are not easy to build and are difficult to maintain. However, it is important that we as network leaders continue to make the time to engage with partners in these meaningful ways in order to accelerate the progress of our organization’s mission. 

Looking for ways to build trust in your partnerships? Schedule a time to talk with us about the different practices of trust and how they can make partnerships stronger.