Zig Ziglar is quoted as saying, “If people like you they will listen to you, but if they trust you they will do business with you.” Trust is a leadership imperative with a commercial upside.
In last weeks post, I wrote that leaders must develop the personal disciplines that position them to be the Chief Trust Officer of their organisation. This is an internally located priority. Leaders also take responsibility for creating a trusting culture. The EY Global Study on trust indicates that employers are running about 50% when it comes to their workplaces having real trust. The downside, according to the report, half of the workforce doesn’t trust their workplace and has the potential to be very costly in the future.
The most engaging definition of trust I’ve unearthed is Patrick Lencioni’s, in his book The Five Dysfunctions of a Team. In it, he says “In the context of building a team, trust is the confidence among team members that their peers’ intentions are good, and that there is no reason to be protective or careful around the group. In essence, teammates must get comfortable being vulnerable with one another.”
The game changer is the reframe around the place of intention. Leaders evaluate outcomes, environments and behaviours pretty quickly. Intentions are more of a learned skill. The strength of Lencioni’s definition is it focuses on peoples motive and leaves room for different perspectives around behaviour. When conflict inevitably arises it leaves room for intent to become the hero of the conversation or for things to be bought back on track.
Think of designing trust this way:
- You have a framework around trust.
- Inputs that create trust.
- Benefits from those inputs that deepens trust.
Architecture of Trust – Master Model
At its foundation, trust needs to be created with intentionality by clarifying what the current reality is. Committing to a new culture of trust, and being a champion for the new team playbook. Once established, trust needs to be embedded by assessing how it’s going, adjusting anything that needs changing and affirming the behaviours that deepen trust. This scaffold will hold you all accountable to the design and build you have intended.
You have three inputs and three benefits by designing trust:
- Intention – The deep place of values and motive that shapes our engagement with one another.
- Behaviour – Our actions. How we choose to outwork the priorities we have agreed on.
- Relationships – The glue that connects teams and makes progress possible and visible.
When these three inputs are repeated over and over, like a drill that a sporting team would do week in and week out until it becomes natural. Doing it until it is the new way for you and your team. Allowing you to be gracious and encouraging to one another in any failure and equally hold one another to inspiring standards. It’s a win win!
What you get from pure intentions, consistent behaviour strong relationships is:
- With pure intentions and consistent behaviour your are predictable – we know what to expect from one another.
- With pure intentions and strong relationships you are supportive – you can handle the tough stuff.
- With consistent behaviour and strong relationships you are complimentary – you combine your teams strengths.
Craig Groeschel said, “Trust is extended, not earned.” Before we do that it must be designed and built with purpose, focus and quality. It’s worth it.
#FORLEADERS
This is for leaders. I am for leaders.
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