Longtime business educator, author and speaker Stephen M.R. Covey can pack many lessons and inspiration in an hour at lunchtime. He spoke today about concepts from his book, "The Speed of Trust -- the One Thing that Changes Everything", at a program sponsored by Execunet.
For individuals and organizations, he said, building trust is critical. "Trust makes markets work, trust makes relationships work, and trust makes the world go round in a global economy," he said in his introduction. "Trust is indispensable; we're operating in a reputation economy, and trust is going down."
In his rapid delivery, Covey described five waves of trust with a ripple effect that starts with 1) ourselves, then 2) our relationships, 3) organizational trust or culture, 3) market trust or reputation, and 5) societal trust based on your individual or organization's contribution. "We have to give to get, it begins with our behaviors, then how are we aligned in the organization with others," he said.
He outlined three "big ideas":
- Trust is an economic driver that is quantifiable and measurable. Trust is a common attribute for those on Fortune's "Best Companies to Work For" list, and high trust companies outperform low trust organizations by 3x. Trust is essential in personal and business relationships.
- Since leaders have the ability to create trust, trust is the number one leadership competency and impacts all other competencies.Trust leverages our differences and encourages risk taking and fosters a culture of learning. Low trust acts like a tax, slowing an organization's productivity and increasing its costs, while high trust pays dividends . "The speed of trust is extraordinary," he said. "Trust brings energy, fun and passion."
- Trust is a skill we can learn, outlining 13 behaviors of successful leaders who build effective teams. Behaviors require character and competence, and he said, character and competence combined inspire confidence and trust. "We build trust from the inside out on purpose. Trust builds groups into high-performing teams that are agile, collaborative, innovative and engaged," he said. "Trust flows from credibility and behaviors."
Covey defined "four cores of credibility" -- integrity, intent, capabilities and a track record of results -- and encouraged participants to focus on one or two to make an impact. Using a tree analogy, he said integrity makes up the roots, your intent is the trunk, capabilities are the branches that grow, and results become the fruit.
Leaders demonstrate integrity when they communicate openly, stand for something, and keep their commitments. Covey described intent as showing genuine care and concern for others and working toward mutual benefit. He challenged leaders to ask hard questions, examine their motives and declare their intent. Using the acronym TASKS, he said capabilities comprise a person's talents, attitudes, skills, knowledge and style, or personality. Finally, the leader plays a role in supporting others to achieve results and discussed the importance of owning and communicating results (good or bad) to sustain performance.
Among the 13 behaviors to build trust, Covey highlighted honesty as first and foremost ("talk straight and be understood"), treat everyone with respect; make things right when they're wrong, show loyalty, deliver results, and constantly learn and get better.
When trust exists, information is shared freely, mistakes are learning opportunities, and people confront real issues, share credit and celebrate successes. There's a high degree of accountability and a culture of innovation and growth
In conclusion, he said leaders must take risks, extend trust and inspire trust to make a difference. "Start with yourself and then focus on others," he said. "Trust can be created, built and restored when broken. You must have a propensity to trust and others will respond."
Not to be confused, Stephen R. Covey, shown below, the father and author of the The Seven Habits of Effective People that sold 25+ million copies in 40 languages around the world, died in 2012.
Execunet provides career coaching and professional development. Learn more at www.speedoftrust.com or www.franklincovey.com.
FAQs
In conclusion, he said leaders must take risks, extend trust and inspire trust to make a difference. "Start with yourself and then focus on others," he said. "Trust can be created, built and restored when broken. You must have a propensity to trust and others will respond."
What are the four C's of building trust? ›
Through my work helping and observing leaders build a trust-based culture, I have developed these 4Cs (Care, Communication, Competence, and Consistency) as critical ingredients for trust. Any lean transformation requires a great deal of trust in the organization.
What is trust according to Franklin Covey? ›
Trust is the most important ingredient for building a team. It is the confidence born of the character and competence of a person or an organization. When leaders inspire trust, they move from leading a team where culture just happens to leading a team where a high-trust culture is created intentionally.
What is Stephen Covey's theory? ›
Covey's theory asks you to “seek first to understand and then to be understood.” This habit cuts down on reactivity and instead encourages thought and patience. By listening and understanding, you de-prioritize your own needs and become more open to new solutions. “Synergize” for creative cooperation.
What are Stephen Covey's four quadrants? ›
This matrix also categorizes tasks according to their level of importance and urgency. Similar to the Covey Time Management Matrix, it has four quadrants — important but not urgent, important and urgent, not important but urgent, and not important and not urgent.
What are the 5 C's of trust? ›
Creating a high-trust environment is not easy. However, the components are clear: care, communication, character, consistency and competence.
What are the 3 C's of trust paradigm? ›
The core elements of trust are competence, character, and caring. Trust is essential to effective leadership.
What does Covey say are the two primary elements of trust? ›
Trust is a function of two things: character and competence. Character includes your integrity, your motive, your intent with people. Competence includes your capabilities, your skills, your results, and your track record.
Which skill is essential when building trust? ›
Relational intelligence is the ability to successfully connect with others and build strong, long-lasting relationships. To build great trust, you must first embrace three other relational intelligence skills: establishing rapport, understanding others, and embracing individual differences.
What is the key to building trust? ›
In our experience, trust has three core drivers: authenticity, logic, and empathy. People tend to trust you when they believe they are interacting with the real you (authenticity), when they have faith in your judgment and competence (logic), and when they feel that you care about them (empathy).
Thankfully, in 2007, along came Shawn Burke and her research team at the University of Florida to summarize a 30-year debate and conclude that all models of trustworthiness consisted of three common pillars: ability, integrity and benevolence.
How to build trust with Stephen Covey? ›
Among the 13 behaviors to build trust, Covey highlighted honesty as first and foremost ("talk straight and be understood"), treat everyone with respect; make things right when they're wrong, show loyalty, deliver results, and constantly learn and get better.
How to accelerate trust? ›
Trust often results from consistency. We tend to have the most trust in people who are there for us consistently through good times and bad. Regularly showing someone that you're there for them is an effective way to build trust.
What is the paradox of trust? ›
The Paradox of Trust is that expecting to benefit from one's own act of kindness can undermine the kindness of the act. Reciprocal cooperation does not run into a similar paradox: expecting to benefit from an act of cooperation does not undermine the cooperativeness of the act.
What was Stephen Covey's famous phrase in relation to business communication? ›
“Trust is the glue of life. It's the most essential ingredient in effective communication. It's the foundational principle that holds all relationships.”
What is Stephen Covey best known for? ›
His most popular book is The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. His other books include First Things First, Principle-Centered Leadership, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Families, The 8th Habit, and The Leader In Me: How Schools and Parents Around the World Are Inspiring Greatness, One Child at a Time.
What is the quote from habit 6? ›
“Alone we can do little but together we can accomplish a lot.” This quote perfectly embodies Synergizing, the 6th Habit in Franklin Covey's 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.
What are three famous leadership quotes? ›
“A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus.” “A good leader takes a little more than his share of the blame, a little less than his share of the credit.” “The quality of a leader is reflected in the standards they set for themselves.” “A leader is a dealer in hope.”
