The Speed of Trust
By: Stephen M.R. Covey[/b]
The world is changing very fast. Big will not beat small, anymore. It will be the fast beating the slow! Trust has become the key leadership competency of the new global economy. The Speed Of Trust, the one thing that changes everything, will become one of the most powerful forms of motivation and inspiration.
"The Speed Of Trust" is written by Dr. Stephen Covey's son, Stephen M.R.Covey. In his book he talks about Trust being a quality that you either have or you don't. You can have all the facts and figures, all the supporting evidence you want, but if you don't command trust, you won't get anywhere.
So how do you inspire lasting trust in your personal and professional relationships, to create unparallel success and prosperity in everyday dimensions of your life?
You have to learn how to establish, grow, extend and restore trust.
Research shows that only 51% of employees have trust and confidence in senior management. Only 36% of employees believe that their leaders act with honesty and integrity.
Who trusts you? What is it in you that inspire the trust of others? Are you credible? Are you believable to yourself and others? Can people trust you?
Trust means confidence. Opposite of trust is distrust or suspicion. When you trust people, you have confidence in them - in their integrity. The moment there is suspicion about a person's motives, everything he does becomes tarnished. No human relationship, personal, social or business, can work without trust.
Trust is a function of two things; character and competence. Character includes your integrity, your motives, your intent with people. Competence includes your capabilities, your skills and your results.
Integrity is honesty, walking your talk, having the courage to act in accordance with your values and beliefs. Intent has to do with our motives and our resulting behavior. Capabilities are our talents, attitudes, skills, knowledge and style that inspire confidence, through which we produce results. Results are our track record, our performance, our getting the right things done.
Our self trust is our self confidence, our ability to keep commitments, to inspire trust in others and to increase our credibility. Do you establish and increase positive behavior consistently? What you do has far greater impact than anything you say. How can leaders generate trust? Do you brand yourself and your reputation? Do you inspire yourself and others to contribute more? Do you tell the truth, and leave the right impression?
When there is no gap between your intent and behavior, you have integrity. You are congruent when what you think, what you feel, what you say, and what you do, are all the same. Consistently demonstrate congruency. Integrity also means humility. Be more concerned about what is right, rather than about being right. Act on good ideas, rather than just having the ideas. Recognize contributions, rather than being recognized for making the contributions. The opposite of humility is arrogance and pride. Integrity also includes courage to do the right thing, even when it is hard. Make and keep your commitments to yourself. Know what you stand for and live by those standards.
Genuine caring for others inspires the greatest trust. Don't pretend to care. People can spot a phony every time. Act in the best interest of others. Declare your intent honestly. The measure of your life will not be in what you accumulate, but in what you give away.
Skills are our proficiencies - things we can do well. Capabilities include our talents, strengths and natural gifts, which help us to produce results. Results matter. Take responsibility for results. It's no use saying, "We are doing our best ". You have to succeed in doing what is necessary. Unless you are continually improving your skills and capabilities, you are quickly becoming irrelevant. What will happen if you train all your staff, and they leave? Worse still, what will happen if you don't train them, and they all stay? You learn most when you teach. There are no uninteresting things; there are only uninterested people. Gain as much knowledge as you can. Learn, understand and be aware. Just keep getting better. Have a unique approach and personality towards your paradigms - your way of seeing and being.
Demonstrate respect. You can judge a person's character by the way he treats people who can't help him or hurt him. Create transparency. Be open. Communicate so clearly that you cannot be misunderstood. Seek feedback. Listen well. Give credit where it is due. You can accomplish anything in life provided you don't mind who gets the credit. Speak about others as if they are present.