​The Trust Equation is from the book The Trusted Advisor by David H. Maister, Charles H. Green, and Robert M. Galford.


​
Becoming a trusted advisor requires deep understanding, integrity, and consistent communication to earn trust.
 
The equation is this: Trust = (Credibility + Reliability + Intimacy) / Self-Orientation
 
In order to build trust, we have to bring our credibility, reliability and our desire to make people comfortable and willing to open up to us (intimacy) over our own self-orientation.
 
This is the concept we use to help leaders understand what they need to do to inspire people to follow them. They need to own their credibility. They need to be reliable. They need to make people feel comfortable. And they need to all this to offset their self-orientation.
 
Let’s look at our current political situation: Do you feel like many of our duly elected representatives do this? 
Are they credible? Or have they bankrupted multiple businesses they were in charge of.
Are they reliable? Do they do what they say they are going to do?
Do they make the people around them feel comfortable and confident?
 
I see our president’s self-orientation clearly. He seeks power, the ability to evade jail, be important, and sell more shoes, watches and crypto. 
 
As a leader, this is not someone I would hire. I don’t know many leaders of companies who say “I welcome convicted fleons, liars and dishonesty at my organization! I want people who only care about themselves working for me!”
 
And yet, for some reason, a majority of people who actually voted feel differently than I do. He makes them feel safer from some outside menace, real or imagined. He appears to them as a successful businessman, real or imagined. People trust him to fix the economy, immigration, terrorism, crime and taxes. I do not see examples of how he has done this before (credibility). I do not see examples of how he has set a plan and accomplished it (reliability). I do not see examples of how he works with people to motivate them, not make them afraid. 
 
This experiment in democracy continues, and we will strive on. 
 
I hope that we can heal the divide created by such chaos. It will take willingness to listen, be present and show up fully. And to have hard conversations, where we call out intolerance for what it is. Where we discuss in order to learn what we might not know. Where we strive for understanding.
 
I am stiving to understand. And I am coming up blank. I am challenging my beliefs. I am watching multiple news outlets. I am listening. And I still do not understand.
 
We wouldn’t accept these traits from an employee or a boss. Let’s not accept them from our elected officials.

“The secret of being wrong isn’t to avoid being wrong! The secret is being willing to be wrong. The secret is realizing that wrong isn’t fatal. The only thing that makes people and organizations great is their willingness to be not great along the way.”  - Seth Godin

In my book Listening without Agenda, I discuss a few items about curiosity and the willingness to be wrong. It has resonated with me a lot lately as I am watching the news.

When it comes to listening, one good practice is entering into a conversation always thinking we might be wrong. Let’s face it, we are all wrong a lot, probably more than we think we are. 

• I thought I had more money in the account. 
• I thought the car had more gas. 
• I could have sworn I sent the notes for our last meeting, even though Bob says he didn’t get them. 
• I know I put my keys in the drawer. 

For many of us, we spend more time trying to cover up the fact we were wrong rather than accepting maybe, just maybe, we were wrong. 

• Who took the money out of the account? 
• Someone drove my car and used up all the gas. 
• I sent the notes; you didn’t get them (or the email got lost). 
• Someone moved my keys. 

The other choice is to accept the mistake and get better. My acting instructor Robyn Hunt once told me she had a chance to see Laurence Olivier do this on stage. The most riveting moments were the times when a mistake was made, because she watched him get better. Each mistake was a chance to learn, grow, and get better. 

For many people, this is the opposite of what we do when we make mistakes. How many times have you beat yourselves up for doing something wrong? “God, I am so stupid. I can’t believe I did that! Ugh!” This message sends us into a tailspin of self-depreciation in the guise of contrition, as if beating ourselves up will make the mistake any better or make it go away.

The energy we spend on berating ourselves can also be spent on improving. To do that, we have to be willing to be wrong, accept the new reality, and then build on it (yes, and). It means letting go of our ego.
“For Socrates and his contemporaries, losing an argument or being wrong about something was not a failure or a source of shame and embarrassment,” says author Michael McQueen in a Fast Company article about how to change people’s minds. “Quite the contrary. The feeling associated with being tripped up in an argument or realizing you were incorrect was described as a moment of enlightenment, self-knowledge, and freedom. They had a name for it: aporia.”

“According to modern philosopher James Garvey, the ancient notion of aporia was ‘a weightless moment as you float free of the mental rut you were in—you stop, your eyes narrow, and no words come to you.’ This feeling of aporia represented a wonderful opportunity to move in a new intellectual direction and grasp new possibilities.” Isn’t it a much nicer way to think of it rather than, “Wow, I screwed up… I am so stupid…” The word aporia means “no path,” and it’s what losing an argument or being wrong about a point once represented. It’s not a moment of shame and embarrassment. It is a moment of experiencing a liberating and exhilarating feeling to be in unfamiliar territory where the next step is unclear. In their pursuit of this intellectual free-fall, the ancient Greeks would argue passionately for hours, but not with the intention of dominating their opponent. Aporia was their aim—enlightenment.

Let’s think about this as a mindset for entering into any business situation. How many meetings have you been in where your boss seemed to really be interested in listening to discover their own blind spots? Where they seemed interested in learning something which would put them in unfamiliar territory where their next step was unclear? I would venture to say not often, or possibly never. 

I do not see examples of this in Politics today. As I watch the news, I also tune into other news channels so I can broaden my understanding and perhaps see a different side of a story. Many news channels spend their time justifying mistakes and failures, rather than owning up to the issue at hand. 

I know I listen from my own point of view. I acknowledge that. And I also listen with the values I believe in; to be of service, to care about others, to support those in need. You know, the things you learned in Sunday school.
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As a leader, the first step is to start by willingly admitting you don’t know everything and admit mistakes. The old days of traditional command-and-control management doesn’t hold up in today’s workplace. And it certainly isn’t holding up in the White House. Employees quickly lose respect for leaders who are unwilling to recognize their own mistakes, or their own fallibility, or share the fact they were wrong. This can have a more detrimental effect on a team and the culture of an organization than making a bad decision. Employees quickly lose respect for leaders who cover up mistakes and don’t take ownership.

I observe this a lot in leaders—the inability to admit they made a mistake. In an article in Psychology Today about psychological rigidity, Guy Winch writes that some people have such a fragile ego, such brittle self-esteem, such a weak “psychological constitution,” that admitting they made a mistake or that they were wrong is fundamentally too threatening for their egos to tolerate. Accepting they were wrong, absorbing that reality, would be so psychologically shattering that their defense mechanisms do something remarkable to avoid doing so— they literally distort their perception of reality to make it (reality) less threatening. Their defense mechanisms protect their fragile ego by changing the very facts in their mind, so they are no longer wrong or culpable.

If you are never wrong, then why try to make things great again? They already are! And if it doesn’t work, it is the fault of saboteurs, past presidents, and (God forbid) the free press that stifles my loud incorrect voice…
It’s time to start having some fierce conversations. 

• What do you believe in?
• How do you see the world?
• What do you really value?

Do my values allow for millions around the globe to starve? Do I value people who will not admit they made a mistake? Do I value more about the money in my IRA (which is down significantly) than the person next to me? Do I believe that I am more important than the rest of the country? The world?

We all make mistakes. The choice is clear – double down and lose more or own it and learn from it. 
Let’s learn from this mistake. Let’s allow for some enlightenment.
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Hey look! I had an AMAZING interview with Jason Cavness!

Trust is a hot topic right now—and for good reason.

When trust breaks down, companies don’t just lose employees; they lose momentum, innovation, and long-term growth.

Trust isn’t built in grand gestures—it’s built in everyday moments. When leaders listen, follow through, and empower their teams, trust strengthens. But when they don’t? Disengagement, high turnover, and stagnation take over.

So, what builds trust? 

Listening.

Listen to what your employees are saying. Ignoring feedback makes employees feel unheard and undervalued. 

The biggest lesson I’ve learned? Listening isn’t passive—it’s a power move. Leaders who listen well create stronger, more resilient teams.

How are you building trust in your workplace? 
#ListenwithoutAgenda #Trust #Communication #ImprovMindset

Check out the info about The Book

Birthing a book is a long and arduous process! There are multiple moments of self-doubt, trepidation and questioning. 
My goal in writing the book was to be helpful, and to be of service however possible.
 
My father, who recently passed, was very involved in the local Rotary Club in Pennsylvania, and they always recited the four-way test at every meeting:
Is it the truth?
Is it fair to all concerned?
Will it build goodwill and better friendships?
Will it be beneficial to all concerned?
 
To me this always resonated with the lesson I taught in Improv; Always make your scene partner look good. It’s not about an internal focus; it is about serving those around you. 
 
The goal of the book is to be of service. If someone found some small thing, anything, then I am happy.
I am extremely delighted when my friend and colleague Nancy Bacon wrote a great blog post about my book. Check it out!
https://nancybacon.com/listening/
 
And I received so many great statements from early readers – it was overwhelming!
“Listening is about being truthfully present - not only with others, but with ourselves. This is the gift Andrew so skillfully and thought-provokingly unwraps in this book.”
“Andrew hits a home run with this fun and practical guide to improving the quality of your relationships at home and at work through the power of deep listening.”
 
I wrote this in the intro: 
Please tell me what you find out about your own listening
style! The more I get to hear your experiences and stories,
the more I get to learn about how the lessons and exercises
work for you. Please share your experiences!
Talk to me. I’ll listen.
 
I am serious. I want to know. If for no other reason, than to know I wasn’t operating in a void. 
 
Thank you. I look forward to hearing from you.

My new book ‘Listening without Agenda’ is now available for pre-sale!

I have been working with Manuscripts Publishing for the last 6 months, and the revisions editor just handed me A PILE of notes. To provide more context and understanding of the exercises contained in my book, I am adding even more personal stories and anecdotes from my life and experiences to help tell this story. 

To say this has been a whirlwind process is an understatement. It has been both extremely satisfying and horrifyingly scary. And there is the underlying fear of ‘what if people just don’t care?’ It feels highly vulnerable to be sharing my life’s work with all of you. However, I know this is part of the process. 

Let’s see how it resonates.

I will be releasing the Introduction and some early chapters soon to get feedback. Please tell me if you would like to be a part of the group to help me shape this beast.
SIGN UP HERE - andrew-mcmasters.presale.manuscripts.com/registration/select

I just came back from my first in person workshop since February 2020. I had no idea what to expect in this new world: would people be shell shocked from being isolated, would they be closed off and protective, would they be willing to open up and be available?
Within the first few minutes of the workshop I realized something magical was happening. Everyone was craving the personal attention. They needed social interaction. They missed the company of people. The camaraderie. The friendship, The companionship.
As we begin the slow crawl out of covid hibernation, what does your team/ company need? How essential is the need to connect, to share, to collaborate?
I was not sure where people would be, or how they would react.  I was amazed and overjoyed to see the desire and exuberance that this group had to be connected and see each other.
Let’s embrace what we have gone thru. Let’s celebrate. And let’s gather. Safely.

And let’s learn what communication is like in this new pandemic world.