The collaboration that needs to take place in these diverse teams is vital to the type and quality of work needed today. We certainly have the technology tools for collaboration; the question is whether or not we have the trust. In reality, trust is the ultimate collaboration tool. On high-trust teams, factors such as physical distance and other obstacles to real collaboration become almost irrelevant. Such teams operate seamlessly, and with incredible speed. For low-trust teams, however, collaboration is an empty buzzword. They struggle to move past mere coordination, with real work slowing to a crawl. As a result, these teams can’t generate sustainable performance.
This is also true with regard to external vendor or supplier relationships, where separate companies work together to leverage expertise and supply networks, data, and other resources. When trust is low, these relationships are characterized by extensive legal agreements and negotiated on independent, self-interested terms rather than on the common ground of interdependent mutual interest and mutual benefit. With trust, however, people are able to focus on working together instead of questioning whether they even should. It’s trust that turns a vendor or a supplier into a partner, just as it’s trust that turns a group of people into a team.I
#4—Change is the new normal in a disruptive world.
Change is happening at an extraordinary and unprecedented rate—not only the pace of change, but also the amount of change and the type of change, which is commonly characterized by disruptive technologies.
Unfortunately, the most perishable commodity in a high-change environment is trust. Paradoxically, trust also happens to be the only means by which people can generate the speed, commitment, and inspiration necessary to successfully navigate such rapidly shifting terrain. Not only are leaders required to respond to the constant change without losing speed; they actually need to get ahead of it.
In consequence, we often need to be disruptors ourselves, and create additional change in order to stay relevant and competitive. This cannot be done alone; it can only be done together with others in an environment of high trust.
#5—Our multigenerational workforce necessitates a different approach to how work gets done.
The balance of generational representation in the workforce is shifting, and it’s happening fast. Millennials—and those in the generation that follows—are effectively motivated, inspired, and engaged in different ways and by different things than the generations that came before them. The younger generations don’t want to be managed, they want to be led. They want to be inspired. They want to make a difference, and they are challenging traditional career paths, hierarchy, and management.
In short, they want to be trusted. In reality, all generations do; however, there is a difference even here. Traditionalists tend to operate under the premise that trust is earned, while younger generations operate under the premise that trust is given. The fact is that both premises are true.
The very nature of our workforce today puts an even greater premium on trust, and bridging generational gaps is one of the great leadership challenges of our time.
#6—Trust is the critical enabler of strategic initiatives.
In study after study across multiple industries, the overwhelming data shows that trust is vital to key strategic initiatives (also known as “Jobs to Be Done”). Consider some of the factors that become either driving or restraining forces to outstanding (or even adequate) organizational performance—factors such as engagement, execution, innovation, retention, recruitment, partnering, collaborating, teaming, productivity, safety, sales, mergers/acquisitions, and leading change. When you move the needle on trust, you move the needle in every one of these areas, and often that movement is disproportionately high. The data is irrefutable.
The reality is that most organizational performance issues are actually trust issues in disguise. In fact, many of the clients I have the opportunity to work with are not focused on a “trust issue,” but they come to recognize that trust truly is the rising tide that lifts all boats. If you get better at trust, it will make you better at everything else you need to do. It is a game changer.
On the other hand, hoping for sustained organizational performance in a low-trust culture is like expecting to keep harvesting fruit from a dying tree.
#7—Trust itself has become a key strategic initiative.
Teams and organizations around the world are making trust—in and of itself and apart from being linked to other initiatives—the intentional focus of how they operate, both internally and externally.
When I first began speaking to audiences and organizations on trust, I would often ask this question: “How many of you are intentionally measuring trust?” I would generally see just a few hands go up. Today when I ask this question, in many audiences nearly half the hands are raised. I predict that fifteen years from now, nearly every hand will go up. We measure what matters.
I would submit that actually, every organization measures trust—at least at the market level. Simply put, marketplace success is trust monetized. When you outperform your competitors, it’s clear that the market has greater trust, or confidence, in your organization, your products, or your services.
In the long run, that kind of market success is only sustainable when it is an outgrowth of who you are internally. Scandal after scandal has made it abundantly clear that it is incongruent to expect to sustain trust with the marketplace if it doesn’t flow out of the workplace—i.e., your team, your organization. More and more, leaders and organizations are proactively focusing on developing and growing trust from the inside out—which, in my experience, is the only way it can be done.
#8—“Culture” has reemerged as an imperative for organizational success.
Increasingly, leaders and organizations today are rallying around an intentional focus on building their culture. They differentiate themselves by it. They compete with it. They focus on having a distinctive culture of winning, or strong values, or safety, innovation, accountability, execution, diversity, performance—or any number of other important areas that are recognized as integral to success.
These are all positive elements of cultural identity. They draw people with talent and abilities to an environment where their values, ambitions, and strengths are aligned with the organization. However, the nature of work today necessitates an environment that fosters creativity, passion, and commitment, and it takes the right cultural foundation to provide the fertile ground needed to nurture these things.
Organizations striving to build a winning, sustainable culture are coming to understand that if they don’t have—first and foremost—the foundation of a high-trust culture, all other efforts are insufficient. A high-trust culture is the starting point for any other sustainable cultural modifier. Organizations that create a culture of trust are winning in the marketplace. These are the organizations and teams that talented people compete to be a part of.
#9—Yesterday’s style of management is insufficient for today’s leadership needs.
The old style of leadership, which we might refer to as “Command and Control,” is rooted deeply in the Industrial Age. While I refer to it as the old style of leadership, the reality is that it is still the primary operating style for most leaders and organizations today. But trying to operate in today’s world with a Command and Control style is like trying to play tennis with a golf club; the tool is completely ill-suited to the reality.
To some degree, many leaders recognize this; yet, Command and Control persists as the prevailing norm—especially when there is great pressure to perform. But you cannot “Command and Control” a person’s best contribution; he or she has to choose to give it.
The style of leadership that succeeds in today’s world is one of “Trust and Inspire”—trust the people you work with and inspire them to make a difference. In reality, to be trusted is the most inspiring form of human motivation. It brings out the best in people—and today, we need the very best.
#10—Trust is the new curr
ency of our world today.
Currency is defined as “something that is in circulation as a medium of exchange.” When most people think of currency, they typically think of money. But another kind of “currency” that’s even more important in creating sustained success in today’s global economy is the currency of trust.
We’ve seen this play out with the global financial crisis, and in every significant societal and economic transformation before and since. Whether on a global scale or in a handshake between friends, without trust, no amount of money can secure meaningful or prolonged exchange. As Warren Buffett put it, “If you don’t trust where you have your money, the world stops.” With trust, money—and all other forms of currency—become subordinate. Money becomes a tool whose relative value goes up or down as driven by the trust or confidence in its source.
When people see a country, an organization, or even an individual as credible or deserving of trust, the trust dividends that accrue afford access, opportunity, and influence that money alone could never buy. On the day ecommerce giant Alibaba went public in what was the largest IPO in history, founder and chairman Jack Ma beautifully described this currency as follows: “Today what we got is not money. What we got is the trust from the people. Trust. Trust us, trust the market, trust the young people, and trust the new technology. The world is getting more transparent. Because when you trust, everything is simple. If you don’t trust, things get complicated.”
Each of the nine previously noted reasons why trust is even more relevant today than when the first edition of this book came out culminate in an increased awareness of leaders everywhere that at the end of the day, the ultimate currency really is trust.
A FINAL WORD
As you have likely noticed, the subtitle of this updated edition of the book remains, “The One Thing That Changes Everything.” More than ever, I am confident that this subtitle acknowledges an absolute reality. I’m hopeful that as you’ve read each of these 10 reasons above, you’ve examined your own experience and also thought of some reasons of your own why this is so.
I’m also hopeful that you’ll experiment further with how the speed of trust works in your world. As you read—or have read—through this book, I invite you to challenge it. Test it out. It may seem that many issues you might face in your world, such as changing market conditions, disruptive competition, or even personal tragedy are outside your control. You may ask, “How does having greater trust ‘change everything’ in these kinds of conditions?”
Let me put it this way: While trust (or lack of it) may not appear to have anything to do with the challenges you’re currently facing, your ability to establish, build, extend, and even restore trust has everything to do with the solution. Why? Because the way we solve problems and get things done is with and through people. And nothing is more impactful on people, their work, and their performance, than trust.
I again affirm that today, trust remains, more than ever before, the one thing that changes everything.
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I. To see a video on why you can’t collaborate without trust, go to www.speedoftrust.com/book-promises.
More from the Author
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ABOUT STEPHEN M. R. COVEY
Stephen M. R. Covey
Stephen M. R. Covey is co-founder of CoveyLink and of the FranklinCovey Global Speed of Trust Practice. A sought-after and compelling keynote speaker and advisor on trust, leadership, ethics, and high performance, he speaks to audiences around the world. He is the New York Times and #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling author of The Speed of Trust, and coauthor of the #1 Amazon bestseller Smart Trust. He advocates that nothing is as fast as the speed of trust and that the ability to establish, grow, extend, and restore trust with all stakeholders is the critical leadership competency of the new global economy. Stephen passionately delivers that message and is skilled in enabling leaders and organizations to experience the dividends of high trust. Audiences and organizations alike resonate with his insightful, relevant approach to real-time issues that affect their immediate and long-term performance.
He is the former CEO of Covey Leadership Center, which, under his stewardship, became the largest leadership development company in the world. Stephen, with Greg Link, led the strategy that propelled his father’s book, Dr. Stephen R. Covey’s The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, to become one of the two most influential business books of the 20th Century, according to CEO Magazine. A Harvard MBA, he joined Covey Leadership Center as a Client Developer and later became National Sales Manager and then President and CEO. Under Stephen’s direction, the company grew rapidly and profitably, achieving Inc. 500 status. As President and CEO, he nearly doubled revenues to over $110 million while increasing profits by 12 times. During that period, both customer and employee trust reached new highs and the company expanded throughout the world into over 40 countries. This greatly increased the value of the brand and company. The company was valued at only $2.4 million when Stephen was named CEO, and, within three years, he grew shareholder value to $160 million in a merger he orchestrated with then Franklin Quest to form FranklinCovey.
Over the years, Stephen has gained considerable respect and influence with executives and leaders of Fortune 500 companies as well as with mid- and small-sized private sector and public sector organizations he’s consulted. Clients recognize his unique perspective on real-world organizational issues based on his practical experience as a former CEO.
Stephen currently serves on the board/advisory board of several entities and is a Top Thought Leaders in Trust Lifetime Achievement Honoree from Trust Across America-Trust Around the World. Stephen resides with his wife and children in the shadows of the Rocky Mountains. You can follow Stephen on Twitter @StephenMRCovey.
Rebecca R. Merrill
Rebecca R. Merrill is a gifted writer. In addition to her primary focus on home and family over the years, she has been a writing partner on some of the most significant leadership books written in the last several years. These include The Speed of Trust by Stephen M. R. Covey and You Already Know How to Be Great by Alan Fine. She also coauthored the New York Times bestseller First Things First with Dr. Stephen R. Covey and Roger Merrill and Life Matters and Connections with Roger Merrill. In addition, she provided assistance to Dr. Covey on The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Families, and The Nature of Leadership.
About CoveyLink and the FranklinCovey Global Speed of Trust Practice
The FranklinCovey Speed of Trust Practice is a global trust practice focused on measurably increasing the performance and influence of people and organizations worldwide by enabling them to lead in a way that inspires trust (thus increasing speed and lowering cost).
We believe that a powerful, global renaissance of trust has begun. Sparked by recent world events, business ethics, and the transparency of conversations enabled by the worldwide web, this call for a renaissance of high-trust leadership is reverberating around the globe.
At the Global Speed of Trust Practice, we define leadership as producing results today in a way that inspires trust.
We take a pragmatic approach to leadership and trust by focusing on practical actions and behaviors. Rather than displacing programs and strategies in which organizations are presently investing, our approach amplifies an organization’s ability to execute existing strategies.
Through a license with CoveyLink, the FranklinCovey Global Speed of Trust Practice provides access to additional resources for individuals and organizations worldwide to increase trust, including open enrollment Leading at the Speed of Trust workshops, keynote speeches, on-site programs, train the trainer certification, webinars, individual and organizational assessments and measurement, application tools, advisory services, and custom consulting.
To inquire about speaking or training from Stephen M. R. Covey or from the FranklinCovey Speed of Trust practice, email us at [email protected] or go to our website at speedoftrust.com.
Speaking
Stephen’s thought leadership, authenticity, and dynamic presenting style have made him a highly sought-after speaker. He has delivered keynotes and workshops on trust and leadership all over the world, from executive teams to audiences of more than 20,000. To inquire about speaking or executive training from Stephen M. R. Covey or another FranklinCovey presenter, email [email protected], or visit our website, speedoftrust.com.
Public Workshop
Participate in the two-day Speed of Trust Work Session: The 13 Behaviors of High-Trust Leaders. FranklinCovey has partnered with American Management Association® to make this two-day program available to you in a Live in Person seminar. To register or for more information, visit franklincovey.com/SOTWorkSession or call 1-800-576-1776.
FranklinCovey All Access Pass
The FranklinCovey All Access Pass provides unlimited access to all of our best-in-class content and solutions, allowing you to expand your reach, achieve your business objectives, and sustainably impact performance across your organization.
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