Social and political philosophers throughout the ages have written about Trust being at the foundation of social relationships, which are the building blocks of civil society. Indeed, Trust is one of the top three drivers of emotional commitment and feeling engaged at work.

Last year the Edelman 2010 Trust Barometer showed that Trust was rebounding after the 2009 Great Recession. Most interesting in their study was the finding that 60% of people need to hear something 3 to 5 times before they believe it is likely to be true.

The recent Harris Interactive Poll on Trust was more bleak:

“When asked which of a list of 17 industries are generally honest and trustworthy, almost half (48%) of all adults say “‘one of these’ which is the highest number giving this negative response since we first asked this question in 2003”

Do you trust your employer? Do your clients trust you? What do you do as a leader to instill a sense of trust?

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Kevin Kruse is a NY Times bestselling author and keynote speaker. Get more success and tips from his newsletter at kevinkruse.com and check out keynote video clips. His new book, Employee Engagement 2.0, teaches managers how to turn apathetic groups into emotionally committed teams.