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CovSpee 09-07-118 |
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The Speed of Trust The One
Thing That Changes Everything Stephen
M. R. Covey Free
Press, 2006, 353 pp., ISBN 978-0-7432-9730-1 |
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Covey is the son of highly regarded author,
Stephen Covey, and the cofounder of his own leadership consulting organization,
CoveyLink Worldwide. His
highly-principled writing is much like his father's. This book surveys four core constituents of
trust: integrity, intent, capability, and results. All four are needed to engender trust in
relationships, organizations, and society.
With trust, everything runs faster, smoother and cheaper. A lack of trust imposes a "tax"
in speed and costs. Covey outlines 13
steps to see, speak, and behave in ways that build trust. "The
ability to establish, grow, extend, and restore trust with all
stakeholders--customers, business partners, investors, and coworkers--is the
key leadership competency of the new global economy." (21) "How would you describe a low-trust
organization? How would you describe a high-trust organization? Which description best represents your
organization? What are the results?" (the impact) (237) "Whether you're on a
sports team, in an office or a member of a family, if you can't trust one
another there's going to be trouble."
Joe Paterno (11) The Sarbanes-Oxley Act is intended to prevent
corporate scandals like WorldCom and Enron.
The cost of implementing one part of it is estimated at $35 billion. This
amounts to a huge "tax" resulting from a loss of trust in corporate
institutions. (14) Some leading organizations ask their employees
directly, "Do you trust your boss?" This may be the most predictive indicator
of team performance. (17) "When trust is high, the dividend you
receive is like a performance multiplier, elevating and improving every
dimension of your organization and your life." (19) Trust is one of the most powerful forms of motivation
and inspiration. (29) Who trusts you? Trust is a function of character and
competence. If a person is sincere but
doesn't get results or if a person has a good track record but is dishonest,
you won't trust them. (30) Live the values (character) and deliver
results (competence). (31) Covey deals with five circles, or waves, of
trust: trust in yourself (confidence in ourselves, our ability to set and
achieve goals), in relationships, in organizations, in the market (your brand
reputation), and in society (creating value for others). "Leadership
is getting results in a way that inspires trust." (40) "The means are as important as the
ends. How you go about achieving
results is as important as the results themselves, because when you establish
trust, you increase your ability to get results the next time." (40) The
First Wave - Self Trust. The Principle
of Credibility The foundational principle is credibility or
believability. Am I believable? Do I trust myself? And Am I someone others can trust? (45)
"The lack of self- trust also undermines our ability to trust
others. It's the little things--a weak
or dishonest act at a time--that gradually weaken and corrode
credibility. (47) We can increase our trustworthiness. The four cores:
Core 1--Integrity - Are you congruent? "Rules cannot take the
place of character." Alan
Greenspan (61) Integrity is being honest but it is more. "It's possible to tell the truth, but
leave the wrong impression. And that's
not being honest." (62) Integrity
means your life is seamless: behavior is consistent with values and
beliefs. Integrity includes humility,
not meaning weak or reticent, but putting principle ahead of self. Integrity includes courage to do the right
thing even when it's hard. You can increase your integrity by making and
keeping commitments to yourself. Stand
for something. Create a personal mission
statement and live by it. Recognize
you might know things that aren't so.
Learn, unlearn and relearn. Core 2--Intent - What's your agenda? "Intent matters. It grows out of character. While we tend to judge ourselves by our
intent, we tend to judge others by their behavior. We also tend to judge others' intent based
on our own paradigms and experience.
Our perception of intent has a huge impact on trust. People often distrust us because of the
conclusions they draw about what we do.
It is important for us to actively influence the conclusions others
draw by 'declaring our intent.'" (76)
NGOs are consistently more trusted than
politicians because their motives are generally clear and honorable. (77)
A person could have integrity, capability and results but, if their
motives are suspect, they wouldn't be trusted. "What kind of tax is my organization
paying because employees don't trust management's intent? What is the impact on speed and cost?"
(78) Your intent includes your motive (your reason for
doing something), your agenda (what you intend to do because of your motive),
and your behavior. "The motive
that inspires the greatest trust is genuine caring
." (78) Having an agenda that is open (as opposed
to hidden or closed) can be powerful.
"The behavior that best
creates credibility and inspires trust is acting in the best interest of
others." (81) People judge us
on the behavior they see and sometimes poor behavior results from poor
execution of good intent. Therefore
it's a good practice to assume good motives and don't interpret others'
intent by projecting your own. Examine your own motives. Am I seeking to bless or impress? Declaring your intent can be helpful,
particularly if your behavior may be misinterpreted. Choose a mindset of abundance. There is enough for both of us to win. Core 3--Capabilities - Are you relevant? "Our capability to do the task at hand
inspires trust in others. In today's
changing world we must constantly upgrade our capabilities, skill-sets and
knowledge to remain relevant. What
capabilities and experience do I have that make me credible? What is my approach to gaining new
capabilities as technology changes?
Capabilities fit in five dimensions: talents, attitudes, skills,
knowledge, and style. The challenge is
to match the style to the highest effectiveness for the task. Identify your strengths in these five areas
and focus on developing and leveraging what's distinctly yours. Run with your strengths and keep yourself
relevant. Assess where you can create
the most effective improvement. Core 4--Results - What's your track record? Results make you credible and establish
trust. They give you clout. Those who live the values but achieve low
results can be trained or coached and perhaps let go if they don't
improve. Those who get results but
don't measure up in integrity or intent must be let go in spite of their
results, even though it is difficult. (111)
What results am I producing?
How good is my track record?
People believe FedEx will deliver on time because they have done so
consistently. (113) "The greatest profit may not be in the
current transaction, but in the credibility and trust that comes from that
transaction that paves the way for even greater results in the future."
(115) It's not just the results but others' awareness
of the results. You need to be able to
communicate properly. Take
responsibility for the results, not just activities. Expect to get results. We tend to get what we expect. Results are all about finishing. "Whenever possible, finish, and finish
strong." (123) The
Second Wave--Relationship Trust - The Principle of Behavior Relationship
trust is all about consistent behavior, interacting with others in ways that
increase trust. Build trust accounts
and remember that not all deposits and withdrawals are equal: withdrawals are
almost always larger. Behavior #1:
Talk Straight. Tell the truth
and don't leave false impressions. Counterfeiting straight talk includes
beating around the bush, double-talk, flattery, and spin. Spin keeps trust low in many
organizations. You don't have to be
brutal or tell everything. There is a
place for tact and good judgment. Behavior #2:
Demonstrate Respect. "You
can judge a person's character by the way he treats people who can't help him
or hurt him." Behave in ways that
demonstrate you care about people.
Don't fake it! You can learn a
lot about a person by the way he treats the waiter. "What creates trust, in
the end, is the leader's manifest respect for the followers." (James
O'Toole, 149) Behavior #3:
Create Transparency. It's about
being open, real, genuine and telling the truth. The opposite is withholding information,
having secrets, and failing to disclose.
The counterfeit is illusion, pretending, falsely representing. "Particularly when trust is low,
people don't trust what they can't see."
(154) There must be balance:
you can't disclose everything. Failure
to create transparency often indicates a lack of honesty or courage or a hidden
agenda. Behavior #4:
Right Wrongs. Go the extra
mile. Don't stop with apologizing but
make restitution. Make it right. Don't justify, rationalize, blame it on
others, or fail to admit a mistake until you are forced to. Don't cover up. Admit mistakes quickly. Apologize and rectify them immediately. Behavior #5:
Show Loyalty. Give credit to
others and don't take credit for yourself for their contribution. Don't be two-faced, appearing to give
credit in their presence and then downplaying it later. Speak about others as if they were present,
in a way that shows respect and serves their best interest. Behavior #6:
Deliver Results. Results give
you instant credibility. Delivering
activities is not an adequate substitute.
Producing results provides more choices, options, and
flexibility. That's the way to convert
the cynics and establish trust in new relationships. Define the desired results up front. Don't over promise and under deliver. Don't make excuses. Behavior #7:
Get Better. Renew, reinvent,
refresh, and retool. Develop your
skills. Learn new ones. This is a requirement for success in
today's world. Seek feedback and act
on it. Learn from your mistakes. Behavior #8:
Confront Reality. Take the
tough issues head-on. Address and
share the bad news and the sacred cows.
Don't substitute hyper-activity for confronting real issues. Don't wait; it doesn't get easier. Don't try to spin everything into a
positive light. Be real. Behavior #9:
Clarify Expectations. Get agreement
in advance of desired results. Avoid
fuzzy expectations. Every interaction
carries expectations and violation affects trust. Unethical behavior often results from
cutting corners to meet unrealistic expectations. Consider quality, speed, and cost. Which can you sacrifice? Where trust is high enough, increasing all
three is a possibility. Don't assume
anything. Behavior #10:
Practice Accountability. Hold
yourself accountable. Don't blame
someone else. This is challenging in a
victimized society, but it builds incredible trust and commitment. Hold your direct reports accountable for
their actions as well. Behavior #11:
Listen First. Genuinely seek to
understand the other person's thoughts, feelings, experience and point of
view before you try to diagnose,
influence or prescribe. Listening
helps you understand what builds trust.
After your next conversation, ask, "Did I really listen?" Behavior #12:
Keep Commitments. Do what you
promise. Keeping commitments
demonstrates integrity, performance, courage and humility. Keep commitments with your family. Follow the " 10-year rule." Ten
years from now will I be glad I did it?
Don't break confidences. Behavior #13: Extend Trust. This not only builds trust but leverages
it. Creating an Action Plan. The book includes a chart to evaluate your
behavior in each of the above areas.
Circle the two or three that will make the greatest positive
difference. Identify one or two next
steps for each one. Make them
actionable and hold yourself accountable to do them. The
Third, Fourth, and Fifth Waves--Stakeholder Trust This section focuses on the context for increasing
speed, lowering cost, and creating value by exercising trust building
behaviors. Organizational trust with
internal stakeholders focuses on internal alignment. Market Trust with external stakeholders
focuses on building your reputation in the marketplace. Societal trust focuses on building trust in
society by making a contribution. "All organizations are perfectly aligned to
get the level of trust they
get." (238) Trust is the hidden
variable that affects everything. Symbols
are powerful images for what is right or wrong in an organization. They may be objects, systems, processes,
consistently applied behaviors or legendary stories. What symbols exist in your organization and
what do they communicate? Do they
create high trust? If you don't have a high-trust organization you
are paying hidden taxes. These taxes
take the forms of redundancy, bureaucracy, politics, disengagement, turnover,
churn (turnover among customers and other outside stakeholders), fraud,
etc. High-trust organizations benefit
from trust dividends such as increased value, accelerated growth, enhanced
innovation, improved collaboration, stronger partnering, better execution,
and increased loyalty. A "brand" is trust with the market,
"trust monetized." On the
individual level everyone has their own reputation, or
"brand." Does my brand have
integrity? Demonstrate good
intent? Demonstrate capabilities? Produce good results? The 4 Cores provide a diagnostic tool to
help you improve your brand. Remember:
"Whatever trust we are able to create in our organizations and in the
marketplace is a result of the credibility we first create in
ourselves." (271) "In a high-trust society, there's more for
everyone. We have more options and
opportunities. We interact with less
friction, resulting in greater speed and lower cost." (Note what happened to air travel when
trust plummeted after 9/11.) "The
overriding principle of societal trust is contribution. It's the intent to create value instead of
destroy it, to give back instead of take." (275) Some people trust too little (They're
suspicious.) and some too much (They're gullible.) Some trust with little inquiry and others
analyze to death. Covey provides a
trust matrix with four quadrants. High tendency to trust with low analysis =
gullibility (Zone 1) High tendency to trust with high analysis =
judgment (Zone 2) Low tendency to trust with low analysis =
indecision (Zone 3) Low tendency to trust with high analysis =
suspicion (Zone 4) Don't extend trust to everyone. Use judgment. Zone 4 describes many leaders. It is "high risk" and results in
many low trust "taxes."
Risk must not be avoided but assessed and managed. "The obsession with
measurement is the problem. There is
something we can use instead of measurement: judgment. Some of the most important things in the
world cannot be measured." Henry
Mintzberg "Somewhere along the way, most of us have
had some kind of
experience where someone believed in us and made an
enormous difference in our lives.
What's most exciting is the realization that we can do that the same for others! We can believe in them. We can extend trust to them. We can help them rise to the challenge,
discover their unseen potential, and make enormous contributions that benefit
us all." (318) |
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