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.
In a high-trust relationship, you can say the wrong thing, and people will still get your meaning. In a low-trust relationship, you can be very measured, even precise, and they’ll still misinterpret you.
One thing to be careful of with regard to skills is what author Jim Collins calls “the curse of competence.” It’s the idea that sometimes we become good at doing something we’re not really talented in or passionate about. As my father often says, “Your current skill-set may or may not correspond with your natural talents.” We need to make certain that the skills we develop don’t limit or define us. At the end of the day, talent provides a deeper well than skills.
There are no moral shortcuts in the game of business – or life. There are, basically, three kinds of people: the unsuccessful, the temporarily successful, and those who become and remain successful. The difference is character.
The moment there is suspicion about a person’s motives, everything he does becomes tainted. – MAHATMA GANDHI.
The principle is simply this: We tend to get what we expect – both from ourselves and from others. When we expect more, we tend to get more; when we expect less, we tend to get less.
The trust we have in people and in organizations comes, in part, from believing that they do care.
Trust, but verify. – RONALD REAGAN.
Low trust causes friction, whether it is caused by unethical.
If we can’t trust ourselves, we’ll have a hard time trusting others.
A humble person is more concerned about what is right than about being right, about acting on good ideas than having the ideas, about embracing new truth than defending outdated position, about building the team than exalting self, about recognizing contribution than being recognized for making it.
On the other hand, trust produces speed. And, as Stephen points out, the greatest trust-building key is “results.” Results build brand loyalty. Results inspire and fire up a winning culture. The consistent production of results not only causes customers to increase their reorders, it also compels them to consistently recommend you to others.
A commit gives hope. Following through that commitment builds trust.
Leadership is getting results in a way that inspires trust. It’s maximizing both your current contribution and your ability to contribute in the future by establishing the trust that makes it possible.
Some people say you can’t change behavior. But there is clear evidence to indicate that people can and do change behavior – sometimes dramatically – and that doing so often produces extraordinary results.