Speed of Trust

By Stephen M.R. Covey

Review By MaryBeth Van Till, VP & Chief Empowerment Officer

Trust.

Do you have it? Do you want it? Can you earn it? Did you lose it? In The Speed of Trust Stephen M. R. Covey explores the criitcal truths around "smart" trust and how it affects the trajectory and outcome of our lives.

As we journey through his book, Covey directs us through 5 "waves" - as he calls them - of trust. At the foundation, trust begins through self-awareness; self trust. Our own awareness, our individual self-trust, can be broken down into 4 core values. These values become the essence of your credibility.

• First and foremost, are you congruent? Do you have integrity? By integrity I mean, do your external actions, attitudes and behaviors match your internal beliefs, values and personal mission?
• The second value is intent. Covey says, “We tend to judge ourselves by our intent, but judge others by their behavior.” Often our distrust emanates from our misinterpretation of someone’s intent, based on how we perceive their behavior.
• The third and fourth cores of credibility are about your capabilities and results. Unlike the first two cores, which focus on character, these last two cores focus on capabilities. Do you possess the skills, knowledge, talent, strengths and ability to perform successfully? Are your capabilities relevant to the task at hand? Following capabilities are your results. What is your track record? As a leader, what have your subordinates experienced about you over time?

The second wave, as Covey describes, is relationship trust. This is where our personal behaviors can behave us in or out of a relationship and/or our conduct and attitudes in the workplace can behave ourselves right on or off a team or project. Covey gives us 13 principles of behavior to live by:

1. Talk Straight
2. Demonstrate Respect
3. Create Transparency
4. Right Wrong
5. Show Loyalty
6. Deliver Results
7. Get Better
8. Confront Reality
9. Clarify Expectations
10. Practice Accountability
11. Listen First
12. Keep Commitments
13. Extend Trust.

These behaviors are the tools that establish or restore trust in every context, family structures, the marketplace, and in society.

So, what's trust got to do with results, the bottom line, your profit margin? Waves 3, 4 and 5 take the principles of Waves 1 and 2 - character, capabilities and behavior - and integrates them in a corporate picture to increase speed, lower cost and maximize the influence of your organization. Once we understand the conceptual underpinnings of trust as it applies to ourselves and our relationships, we can begin to strategize its use among our stakeholders. Wave 3 is Organizational Trust. This kind of trust is the heart of CultureMD. Our primary service is to build organizational trust - providing our client the tools, opportunity and ability to develop a people-first, value-based, results-oriented culture. Our hope is to assist our clients in developing a structure and system within a corporation that is in harmony with the core beliefs, values, and mission.

Springing from a successful implementation of organizational trust, waves 4 and 5 are natural successors. Wave 4, Market Trust, builds on the principle of reputation or brand. As Covey puts it "it's using the cores and behaviors to create the credibility and behavior that inspires trust of external stakeholders to the extent that they will buy, invest in and/or recommend your products and services to others."  Wave 5, Societal Trust, is our demonstration of our intent to give back. Our intent as an organization to be a global citizen, building an organization that contributes to the well-being of the world.

Where are you on the trust continuum? On what "wave" of trust could your organization benefit from spending some time on? Our own Dr David G Beighley, Vice President and Chief Smoke-Jumper, says "trust equals consistency over time." In a nutshell, he contends that you can trust everyone. That is to say, whatever traits they have consistently demonstrated to you, specifically and behaviorally over time, is what you can trust about them. What traits are you consistently demonstrating to your family, to your employees, to the world around you, that you can be trusted on?

Grab your surfboard; it’s time to hit some waves…
 

2006 FreePress

ISBN: 074329730X

Buy Book