Trustworthiness Diagnostic
Explore the Trust Equation—(Credibility + Reliability + Intimacy) ÷ Self-Orientation—and identify the behavioural lever most likely to strengthen trust in an important relationship.
Turn trust into observable behavioural levers.
The tool uses the Trust Equation associated with David Maister, Charles Green and Robert Galford. Learners manipulate the four components directly, observe the Trust Quotient, and test how a trust breach changes the relationship profile.
Trustworthiness Formula — Step by Step
Eight locked stages move from trust context through the four equation components, evidence confidence, a trust-breach challenge and management review.
Establish the Trustworthiness Context
Trust Quotient and Behavioural Levers
Reveal the trust context to begin.
Four components influence trust in different ways.
Credibility
“I can believe what you say.” Built through expertise, honesty, evidence and sound judgement.
Reliability
“I can depend on what you do.” Built through consistency, delivery, follow-through and predictable standards.
Intimacy
“I feel safe telling you what is really happening.” Built through discretion, listening, empathy and non-defensive response.
Self-Orientation
“Whose interests dominate the interaction?” High self-focus weakens the equation even when the other three components are strong.
Trust Equation:(Credibility + Reliability + Intimacy) ÷ Self-Orientation.
Trust Quotient: the raw equation result. The 0–100 Trust Signal is a visual normalization of that quotient against the illustrative maximum available on this tool's 1–5 scale.
Diagnostic Confidence: depends on Behavioural Evidence Depth and Relationship Exposure; these do not change the equation itself.
Important: this is an original INDENTRA educational diagnostic based on the Trust Equation. It is not a validated psychometric, personality or clinical assessment.
Build Your Own Trust Scenario
Experiment Mode is isolated from the guided demonstration. Adjust all four Trust Equation components plus evidence and relationship exposure.
Quick Knowledge Check
Trustworthiness Development Cues
Strengthen Credibility
Be accurate, acknowledge uncertainty, use relevant evidence and avoid overstating expertise.
Strengthen Reliability
Keep commitments, communicate early when conditions change and make follow-through visible.
Strengthen Intimacy
Listen without immediate judgement, protect confidences and respond constructively to difficult information.
Reduce Self-Orientation
Ask more, listen longer, make the other party's interests explicit and separate the shared outcome from your need to be right.
Use Evidence Over Impressions
Rate trust from repeated behaviour across time and pressure—not from one positive or negative interaction.
Repair the Damaged Component
Trust repair is strongest when the response matches the breach: reliability problems need follow-through; safety problems need different behaviour.
Be credible in what you say, reliable in what you do, safe in how people experience the relationship, and disciplined about keeping self-orientation low.