3 — The Asymmetry of Trust Repair

soul dembow, tokyo afro-funk, blues afro house, hypnagogic shoegaze · 3:51

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Lyrics

[Verse 1]
Dan rebuilt his business ties with care and time
Face to face he worked to heal what broke the line
But upward trust stayed damaged, wouldn't mend
That's the lesson we must comprehend

[Chorus]
Trust flows up through signals in the chain
When it breaks, direct repair won't heal the pain
Lateral trust can mend with interaction
Upward trust needs signal chain extraction
It's not personal, it's structural design
Trust repair works different every time

[Verse 2]
Your manager's trust isn't just about you two
It's what others say about the work you do
Second-hand accounts and reports they read
That's the signal chain that plants the seed

[Chorus]
Trust flows up through signals in the chain
When it breaks, direct repair won't heal the pain
Lateral trust can mend with interaction
Upward trust needs signal chain extraction
It's not personal, it's structural design
Trust repair works different every time

[Bridge]
Map your stakeholders on a grid today
Competence and relational display
High skill, low relation, watch that space
Governance escalation you might face

Credibility plus reliability
Plus intimacy over self-centricity
Thirteen behaviors from Covey's guide
Trust equation cannot hide

[Verse 3]
Sideways trust rebuilds through what you share
Downward trust grows from the way you care
But upward trust flows through the system's eyes
Fix the signal chain to hear your cries

[Chorus]
Trust flows up through signals in the chain
When it breaks, direct repair won't heal the pain
Lateral trust can mend with interaction
Upward trust needs signal chain extraction
It's not personal, it's structural design
Trust repair works different every time

[Outro]
Asymmetry of trust repair
Different directions, different care
Learn the pattern, learn it well
Trust's direction has a tale to tell

← 2 — How Trust Debt Accumulates | 1 — Positional Authority vs. Granted Authority →