trust

The Speed of Trust - Page 8

3. You need to act on your natural propensity to trust others in all situations – because most people respond better to trust than they ever will to intense criticism. Choose to trust. Balance that inclination with analysis so you have the good judgement required to extend smart trust, but err on the side of trusting people more than they deserve. This is a much better way to build a happy life and a solid successful career than forever being suspicious of the people with whom you interact and do business. From time to time, people will disappoint but by far the vast majority will respond well to the level of trust they are extended. “There’s no getting around the fact than in today’s ‘flat’, global economy, trust is essential to prosperity. In our personal and family relationships, trust is essential to satisfaction and joy. And the truth is we can establish it. We can grow it. We can extend it. We can restore it. We can become personally and organizationally credible. We can behave in ways that inspire trust. We can increase speed and lower cost in every dimension of our lives.” – Stephen M. Covey “In everybody’s life, at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit.” – Albert Schweitzer “You can have all the facts and figures, all the supporting evidence, all the endorsements that you want, but if you don’t command trust, you won’t get anywhere.” – Naill Fitzgerald, former chairman, Unilever “Technique and technology are important, but adding trust is the issue of the decade.” – Tom Peters, business author and consultant “You can’t have success without trust. The word trust embodies almost everything you strive for that will help you to succeed. You tell me any human relationship that works without trust, whether it is a marriage or a friendship or a social interaction; in the long run, the same thing is true about business, especially businesses that deal with the public.” – Jim Burke, former chairman and CEO, Johnson & Johnson “As you go to work, your top priority should be to build trust.” – Robert Eckert, CEO Mattel

Summation

Inspiring trust in others

Nothing in business is as fast or as profitable as trust. Accordingly, the first job of any leader is to inspire trust in others. This single competency and ability will create the foundation upon which all successful enterprises and personal careers stand. The ability to inspire trust in others is also the prime differentiator between managers and leaders. The ability to establish and then expand trust is the key professional competency of the current business era. In very simple terms, the individuals and organizations which can do this will move forward while those entities which cannot will not make any real progress at all. Inspiring trust in others generally comes about as the combined result of three different competencies: 1. You have to learn how to extend “smart trust” – trust based on finding the sweet spot between trusting everyone blindly and being highly selective about who you trust. Smart trust means you extend people the degree of trust their previous interactions with you have earned, or which you might reasonably anticipate will be advantageous. Thus, smart trust doesn’t mean you trust anyone and everyone to do what they say. That would be folly and would suggest you were highly gullible. Instead, smart trust requires that you moderate and manage the amount of trust you extend to others based on your own analysis. 2. You need to have the ability to restore trust which has been lost – which is usually a matter of getting back to the 4 Cores and the 13 Behaviors. Restoring trust can be painful and time consuming but it can be done. To make this process a little easier:

Don’t be too quick to judge. Always put the shoe on the other foot and try to see things from the other person’s point-of-view. Go out of your way to give people the benefit of the doubt and every opportunity to restore and hopefully increase the degree of trust they once had in your eyes.

Forgive everyone at the drop of a hat.

Anger and vindictiveness are abrasive. Let go of the things which are out of your direct control, especially events which are in the past or other people’s attitudes or behaviors. It’s always in your own best interests to forgive and move on rather than holding enduring grudges or animosity. Remind yourself forgiveness and trust are two entirely different matters and it’s best that you move onwards and upwards rather than bearing a personal grudge. Make restoring trust a priority. If you’ve lost the trust of someone close, work hard at making it possible for that person to trust you again in the future. Look at this as an opportunity to get your act together, to improve your character, to enhance your competency and to behave in ways which will inspire trust in the future. Do all you can to have a positive future and then let that future unfold.

“Speed happens when people really trust each other.” – Edward Marshall

“If you’re not fast, you’re dead.”

– Jack Welch, former CEO, General Electric

“Trust always affects two outcomes – speed and cost. When trust goes down, speed will also go down and costs will go up. When trust goes up, speed will also go up and costs will go down. It’s that simple, that real, that predictable. Once you really understand the hard, measurable economics of trust, it’s like putting on a new pair of glasses. Everywhere you look, you can see the impact – at work, at home, in every relationship, in every effort. You can begin to see the incredible difference high-trust relationships can make in every dimension of life.” – Stephen M. Covey

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