Wednesday, March 02, 2005
Of Trust And Accountability
Ever since we were small, we have been educated to trust others. We trust our parents and our siblings. We trust our elders and our leaders. We trust our friends and our colleagues. Religious and moral teachers encourage us to trust each other so that the world would be a better place. If we can trust each other absolutely, there would be no suspicion; there would be no hatred, and there would be more love.
The reality is that when children trust a stranger, they were abducted or abused. Very often, when we trusted our leaders, we were misled. More frequently when we trusted our business associated, we were betrayed. So sooner or later, we learned to trust less and less.
If there is less trust, there must be more suspicion. So how do we maintain the balance? At the very basic, trust must be mutual. If we chose to trust others, we expect others to trust us. When we trust someone to do something, we expect that appropriate and correct actions be taken to achieve what is set out to achieve. When we trust someone to manage our fund, we expect that due diligent be exercise to reduce unnecessary expenses and that the fund be spend or be invested in accordance with agreed or established guidelines. This is called accountability. This bring in the balance equation that Trust must also be reciprocated with Accountability. With accountability, there is no necessity for suspicion or mistrust. It is only with this balance equation in place that the healthy relationship between the trusting and the trusted parties can be sustained.
The reality is that when children trust a stranger, they were abducted or abused. Very often, when we trusted our leaders, we were misled. More frequently when we trusted our business associated, we were betrayed. So sooner or later, we learned to trust less and less.
If there is less trust, there must be more suspicion. So how do we maintain the balance? At the very basic, trust must be mutual. If we chose to trust others, we expect others to trust us. When we trust someone to do something, we expect that appropriate and correct actions be taken to achieve what is set out to achieve. When we trust someone to manage our fund, we expect that due diligent be exercise to reduce unnecessary expenses and that the fund be spend or be invested in accordance with agreed or established guidelines. This is called accountability. This bring in the balance equation that Trust must also be reciprocated with Accountability. With accountability, there is no necessity for suspicion or mistrust. It is only with this balance equation in place that the healthy relationship between the trusting and the trusted parties can be sustained.
