JS Tip 150: From the Leadership Workshops: Gaining Trust

We will not follow leaders we do not trust.

No thank you. I’ll catch the next bus.   

But what generates trust?

Stephen M. R. Covey, in The Speed of Trust, identifies four principles:

Integrity. Are we who we say we are? Do we keep our word? “’Integrity’ comes from the same Latin root as the words ‘integrated’ and ‘integer.’ A person has integrity when there is no gap between intent and behavior, when he or she is whole, seamless, the same—inside and out.” (Covey, 62)

Intent. What’s our agenda? Our motive? Do we care about those we serve or do we see them only as tools for advancement?

Capability. We refer to this as “competence” in the leadership workshops. Do we have the skills to accomplish what we need to do? And, if we don’t have the skills, do we know how to learn them?

Results. What have we done to demonstrate our capability? Our competence? One reason companies like to look at résumés is they show what we’ve done. Eli Manning led a fourth-quarter charge and won the Superbowl. Does he have football credibility? Absolutely.

These are global principles. Next week we’ll talk about local practices.

Questions, comments, or arguments? Let us know. We love this stuff.