Whether you’re looking at Franklin Covey’s 4 Imperatives of Great Leaders, Patrick Lencioni’s The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, or any of a number of other great leadership books, you’ll find broad agreement that the foundation of every strong relationship is trust.
Foundation
Remember the old story about the wise man building his house upon the rock and the foolish man building his house upon the sand? We generally take the foundation of buildings for granted; but if the foundation is bad, nothing you build on it will be of lasting greatness (particularly when the stormy weather comes).
More Than a Warm Fuzzy Feeling
In his excellent book The Speed of Trust, Stephen M. R. Covey explains, “Trust is a hard-edged, economic driver” and “the one thing that changes everything.” When trust is high, speed increases and costs decrease. But when trust is low, we end up paying a “trust tax” in the form of slower speeds and higher costs.
Character and Competence
There are lots of ways to define trust, but my favorite is as a combination of character and competence. One’s character is a combination of their integrity and intentions. One’s competence is a combination of their capabilities coupled with a strong track record of proven results.
Trust is a Skill
Trust is not simply something you are born with. Trust is a skill that can be learned – just like playing the piano. With intentional focus and practice, we can develop this skill and strengthen this muscle. Begin by focusing on yourself and the things you control. Talk straight! When you make a commitment – keep it! When you’ve done something wrong – take responsibility for it, apologize, and work to make it right! Increase your capabilities by studying books, practicing, finding a community where you can be mentored and mentor others and stay up to date on the latest developments. Jack Welch says, “Trust happens when leaders are transparent, candid, and keep their word. It’s that simple.”
Call to Action
What’s one thing you can do today to increase trust? Sometimes the best place to start is by increasing trust with ourselves. When we make a commitment to ourselves to eat right, exercise, get more sleep, wake up on time, spend more time with our family, etc – do we keep it? Then, work on strengthening trust with the people closest to you. If you tell your spouse and kids you’ll be home in time for dinner – then do it! Dependability goes a long way to earning others’ trust.
