In late June, leaders from all Equix companies—Equix, Astra, and Mi-Tech Services—gathered in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, for our annual Summer Summit. The summit consisted of three (3) days of learning, growing, and connecting as individuals of the company.

Each day began with a safety moment, and Day 1 focused on a high-level overview of where Equix sits as a whole, which included reviewing the highs and lows from 2022 and a deep dive into our core values.

Our leaders got to hear from two project management & claims experts, where they learned of the industry’s current best practices. Afterward, leaders were divided into breakout groups where they participated in detailed training in the areas of safety, retirement planning, anti-harassment, and finance.

After the safety moment on Day 2, we heard from an excellent keynote speaker and author, David Horsager. He walked us through his diligent research and thorough knowledge of the Eight Pillars of Trust.

CLARITY: Clarity is the cornerstone of trust. We are more likely to trust someone when we know where they stand and when they are clear in their words and actions. Anyone in the company can strengthen clarity, and clarity from one person inspires it in others. Making clear priorities and communicating clear expectations are two simple things we can all do in our daily activities. The questions to ask are How? How? HOW? until you have actionable steps that can be taken to start doing a task tomorrow.

COMPASSION: We trust those that care about something beyond themselves and those that put others’ needs before their own. We can strengthen this pillar by practicing L.A.W.S. – Listen, Appreciate, Wake up (work on being present and put the phone away), and Serve others.

CHARACTER: One of our team members defined character as, “Doing what needs to be done, when it needs to be done, whether you feel like it or not.” Would you follow you? What are your decision-making values? Leaders were encouraged to incentivize the character they want to see in their teams and to lead by example.

COMPETENCY: Competency is a critical element of trust as we are more willing to put our faith in someone we know can do the job well. We continue to strengthen our pillar of competency as we are constantly learning, growing, and staying up to date on industry knowledge. Competency is the “Keeper of Culture” because input=output.

COMMITMENT: We trust those who keep their promises. Our bond of trust strengthens as we create a culture of accountability and maintain our commitments to one another. Accountability allows you to have a more precise picture by having clear goals, clear ability, clear metrics, clear check-ins (specific person, time, and place), clear results, and clear commitment, which all lead to healthy relationships and a solid foundation of trust.

CONNECTION: At its core, trust is about personal relationships, which require connection to grow. Making the extra effort to meet with your team members and getting to know them for who they are are great ways to build connections within your team and Equix.

CONTRIBUTION: As we individually work to contribute to delivering the results we strive for as a company, we increase the way we trust and rely on each other.

CONSISTENCY: It’s the little things done consistently that make the most significant difference. It is critical to understand that trust is never static and that every interaction we have affects it. None of these other pillars can make a genuine difference if they are not guided by consistency. Only choose things you can commit to consistently.

On the final day, leaders from our companies and business units met to digest all they learned from the previous two days. They discussed how the information related to their teams, how they would apply what they learned in their day-to-day operations, and made actionable plans to help their teams grow and flourish.

Everyone was challenged to use what they learned to educate their teams and to work on building the strongest possible bonds of trust throughout Equix—connecting us all in the best way possible.