My friend Jack Vinson, knowledge management expert, shared a link to a knowledge management blog, Above and Beyond KM, that talks about trust as the secret sauce to knowledge management. The blog’s author, Mary Abraham, cites to a post by Neil Richards (Knowledge Thoughts), How trust & risk affect wiki adoption.  In this post, Richards discussed the “trust threshold, ” the point at which trust and risk intersect.

Neil credits Robert Shaw as defining the term “trust threshold” in his 1997 book, Trust in the Balance. Shaw’s book is on my list of recommended titles on Trust. Shaw presents the concept of a Trust Threshold as a necessary element in keeping the balance between trust and risk, and to help protect us from the untrustworthy. 

Shaw describes three factors as important in the establishment of a trust threshold:

1) The Situation – Depending on the risk involved, some situations require a higher or lower threshold of trust.

2) Those Giving Their Trust – Based on their own history and temperament, individuals, teams, and organizations are inclined to establish higher or lower trust thresholds.

3) Those Asking to be Trusted – Depending on the perceived credibility of those we are considering trusting, we may raise or lower the trust threshold we use.

Mary Abraham points out in her post that with trust comes a willingness to create, contribute and collaborate. Robert Shaw states that it is nearly impossible to find complete trust or distrust. He also says that one of the paradoxes of trust is that trust cannot grow unless we take risks that may result in distrust.

To achieve a knowledge sharing environment, it is essential to manage the risks that are involved in building and monitoring trust.