Innovation & Design
Trust Is Earned, Not Given
| posted 09-30-2009 |
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Who and what do we trust? Very few and not much, it seems. For some context, here's the lead paragraph from a May 2009 Time article by Adam Smith entitled, What Banks Are Still Missing: Trust:"...bankers around the world took wild risks that their bosses and regulators failed to stop. Throw in Bernard Madoff's massive fraud, and trust right now is as scarce as good credit. According to the Chicago Booth/Kellogg School Financial Trust Index, a new quarterly measure of Americans' confidence in financial institutions, faith in banks — on a scale of 1 to 5, where 1 denotes no trust and 5 complete confidence — fell from 2.95 to 2.8 in the first quarter of this year; trust in bankers slipped from 2.6 to 2.5. Things are even bleaker elsewhere. In a January ICM poll carried out across 17 of the world's leading economies — using a scale of 1 to 10 — public trust in the stability and solidity of banks came in at 4 in Germany, 4.2 in the U.K., and 5.1 in France." But it's not only banks. A January 2009 Public Strategies Inc./Politico poll shows that a majority of voters say their confidence in the federal government's ability is falling: 62% say their confidence in Washington has decreased over the past 12 months, 8% say their confidence has increased. When people lack trust in others and in institutions, we pay in costs, time, stress, productivity, morale, and both mental and physical health. Try to imagine what would happen in during these difficult times companies trusted employees. Changes in the workplace and in our nation such as the following could create dramatic positive results. • If executives and managers trusted their employees, I have little doubt that we would see a huge increase in the numbers of people working from home, saving time and energy and reducing stress on the environment. In addition, trusted employees are more motivated, productive and innovative. The fact is: Trust is in a downward spiral, and flowery speeches and promises won't move us to give our trust. It must be earned through actions that demonstrate integrity, intent, capabilities and results. In his book The Speed of Trust, Stephen M.R. Covey identifies 13 behaviors that must be an integral part of the fabric of an individual or an institution for trust to be earned: 1. Straight Talk Imagine the difference we could make if all of us worked to improve those behaviors in our home and or work lives.  ______________________________ Lewis Green, Chief Communications Officer & Founder of L&G Business Solutions, a marketing and communications firm, brings three decades of business management experience. He has held management positions with GTE Discovery Publications, Puget Sound Energy and Starbucks Coffee Company. Lewis’s fifth book is entitled Lead With Your Heart. Lewis also has served as a book editor with a large publisher, an Executive Editor overseeing four magazines, and a newspaper department editor. Lewis served eight years in the U.S. Air Force, where he received the Air Force Commendation Medal.Read more about Lewis Green on his blog. |
