Why is trust a “hot topic”?

There is a trust crisis in our society!

(Data from S.R. Covey 2006)

Both Sides Betray Each Other’s Trust

Breakdown of Trust Threatens Orderly Government

 2005 Harris Poll in U.S.
22% trust the media
8% trust political parties
27% trust the government
12% trust big companies

British Sociologist David Halpern

34% of Americans believe others can be trusted
23% of Latin Americans believe others can be trusted
18% of Africans believe others can be trusted
29% of Britains believe others can be trusted
(40 years ago this figure was 60%)
 Covey Research
• 51% of employees have trust and confidence in senior management
• 36% of employees believe their leaders act with honesty and integrity
• Over the past 12 months, 76% of employees have observed illegal,
unethical conduct on the job– which, if exposed would seriously
violate the public’s trust
• 1 of 2 marriages end in divorce.
• #1 reason people leave their jobs is a bad relationship with their boss

Students Who Acknowledge Cheating to Get Into

Graduate School (Covey)
Liberal Arts Students 43%
Education Students 52%
Medical Students 63%
Law Students 63%
Business Students 75%
• Convicts in minimum security prisons scored as high as MBA
students on their ethical dilemma exams!
 Trust matters!

Trust is a social issue.

Trust is an economic issue.
↓ Trust = ↓ Speed ↑ Cost
↑ Trust = ↑ Speed ↓ Cost
Trust is a personal issue.
It impacts ... Productivity
Job satisfaction
Achievement
Psychological safety
 What is trust?
• Confidence in someone’s authenticity
• An assessment we make about our faith in a person’s
reliability
• Honesty between people
• Human experience
• Belief that another will act in a predictable way, is
concerned with my welfare, and is able to act in my interest
(Putnam 2000)
• Willingness to be vulnerable to the actions of another
based upon expectations that the party will perform an act
of importance (Rousseau, Sitkin, Burt, Camerer 1998)
• Competence, openness, benevolence, reliability (Mishra 1996)
• Trust can be situation specific...particularly in a work
setting.
 Trust

Trust

Competence

Integrity Capability Congruence

Intent Results Reliability

 Trust is NOT...
• Being liked

• Being popular

• Agreement

• Putting your best foot forward and hiding the

other foot
 Misperceptions of Trust
 Trust automatically exists among people.
 Trust is soft.
 Trust is irrelevant to the bottom line.
 Trust is either there or not there and you can’t do
anything about it.
 You can only trust someone you agree with.
 Power and authority automatically result in trust.
 Experience justifies trust.
 Expertise results in trust.
 Trust is a one way street.
 I can exert “trust on demand.”
 Dimensions of Trust
Strategic trust ... Believing that the organization is
doing the right things; believing in
the mission

Organizational trust ... Trust in the way things are being

done (i.e. processes and decision-making)

Personal trust ... Believing that people will extend a level

of care for your personal well-being; trust
in the people

Galford and Drapeau 2002

13 Behaviors of High
Trust Leaders
(Covey 2006)

Straight talk
“If I had two faces, would I be wearing this
one?”
13 Behaviors of High
Trust Leaders
(Covey 2006)

Straight talk
Demonstrate respect
Christianity: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto
you.”
Judaism: “What you hate, do not do to anyone.”
Islam: “No one of you is a believer until he loves for his brother
what he loves for himself.”
Hinduism: “Do nothing to thy neighbor which thou wouldst not
have him do to thee.”
Buddhism: “Hurt not others with that which pains thyself.”
Sikhism: “Treat others as you would be treated yourself.”
Confucianism: “What you do not want done to yourself, do not
do to others.”
Aristotle: “We should behave to our friends as we wish our
friends to behave to us.”
Plato: “May I do to others as I would that they should do unto
me.”
13 Behaviors of High
Trust Leaders
(Covey 2006)

Straight talk
Demonstrate respect
Create transparency
13 Behaviors of High
Trust Leaders
(Covey 2006)

Straight talk
Demonstrate respect
Create transparency
Right wrongs
13 Behaviors of High
Trust Leaders
(Covey 2006)

Straight talk
Demonstrate respect
Create transparency
Right wrongs
Show loyalty
13 Behaviors of High
Trust Leaders
(Covey 2006)

Straight talk
Demonstrate respect
Create transparency
Right wrongs
Show loyalty
Deliver results
“We judge ourselves by what we feel capable
of doing, while others judge us by what we
have already done.”

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

13 Behaviors of High
Trust Leaders
(Covey 2006)

Straight talk
Demonstrate respect
Create transparency
Right wrongs
Show loyalty
Deliver results
Get better
“Skate to where the puck is going to
be, not to where it has been.”

Wayne Gretsky
Canadian hockey player
13 Behaviors of High
Trust Leaders
(Covey 2006)

 Straight talk
 Demonstrate respect
 Create transparency
 Right wrongs
 Show loyalty
 Deliver results
 Get better
 Confront reality
 Why don’t we confront reality?

1) Desire to be popular

2) Desire to avoid discomfort

3) Desire to “save face”

13 Behaviors of High
Trust Leaders
(Covey 2006)

 Straight talk
 Clarify expectations
 Demonstrate respect
 Create transparency
 Right wrongs
 Show loyalty
 Deliver results
 Get better
 Confront reality
How can we make expectations clear?

• Quantify everything.

• Focus on results, not activities.

• Use reflective listening and ask for

reiteration.
13 Behaviors of High
Trust Leaders
(Covey 2006)

 Straight talk
 Clarify expectations
 Demonstrate respect
 Practice
 Create transparency accountability
 Right wrongs
 Show loyalty
 Deliver results
 Get better
 Confront reality
13 Behaviors of High
Trust Leaders
(Covey 2006)

 Straight talk
 Clarify expectations
 Demonstrate respect
 Practice
 Create transparency accountability
 Right wrongs  Listen first
 Show loyalty
 Deliver results
 Get better
 Confront reality
13 Behaviors of High
Trust Leaders
(Covey 2006)

 Straight talk
 Clarify expectations
 Demonstrate respect
 Practice
 Create transparency accountability
 Right wrongs  Listen first
 Show loyalty  Keep commitments
 Deliver results
 Get better
 Confront reality
Ways To Use Commitments To Build
Trust

1. Make – Keep – Repeat a value-add

2. Make sure commitments are realistic

3. Watch your language

13 Behaviors of High
Trust Leaders
(Covey 2006)

 Straight talk
 Clarify expectations
 Demonstrate respect
 Practice
 Create transparency accountability
 Right wrongs  Listen first
 Show loyalty  Keep commitments
 Deliver results  Extend trust
 Get better
 Confront reality
 Counterfeit Trusting ... Bad News!

• Giving people responsibility but no

authority to get the job done

• Acting like you trust and then

“snoopervising” or micromanaging.
Behaviors of High Trust Leaders

“You can’t talk yourself out of a

problem you behaved yourself into–
but you can behave yourself out of a
problem you behaved yourself into.”
Stephen M. Covey