Trust

In The Speed of Trust, by Stephen M.R. Covey, he talks about trust being the "one thing that changes everything." The book is broken into "waves" of trust: self-trust, relationship trust, stakeholder trust and inspiring trust. Building trust is a key element of this process, specifically the principles Covey outlines of credibility, behavior, and relationships. As an example, the core elements of creating credibility are integrity (being congruent), intent (your agenda), capabilities (your relevance) and results (your track record). Trust is foundational to the ideation process; without it, your teams and coalitions will be unable to move work forward and build capacity.

In Phase I, Inspiration, we focus on trust because it is foundational to this work. Without it, your team will be unable to move work forward and build capacity. Relationship trust is all about consistent behavior that increases trust; this builds a “trust account” that you can “withdraw from.” The first few highlighted behaviors include: talking straight (honesty, truthfulness, simple language); demonstrating respect (genuine caring, respect, dignity, and showing kindness); and creating transparency (tell the truth, get real and genuine, be open and authentic). You may also find this Executive Summary of The Speed of Trust useful.

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