It’s only February and already we have heard from so many sources and situations that ‘Trust’ is going to be one of the major confrontations this year. Trust and more relevantly, the lack of it.
Politically, both inside and outside the government, within local authorities, the NHS, our public services and across all industries and organisations and to each of us personally, it is very evident that ‘Trust’, or the lack of it - is the big issue this year.
We have already seen how the concept of ‘Trust’ has had its fundamental social pillars continuously sabotaged and demolished by Presidents, Political Party Leaders, Members of Parliament, the NHS, media false reporting, the banks and a host of other public services. The list is endless. Remember the old saying “Trust me I’m a doctor...”? Well that phrase cannot be seen today to represent trust due to its relationship to the failings and deficiencies associated with the shortcomings of so many doctors over time.
So, regardless of how well anyone is really leading and managing, there remains a certain degree of ‘contamination’ that will always be undermining it. Consequently ‘Trust’ has now become a “big issue.” It raises the question “How does anyone know who to trust?!”
It’s clear from media reports across industries and nations, that the issue stems from making sure that there are the right leaders in place whilst ensuring that they “walk the talk”. In doing that they are consistently loyal to their cause and expose themselves openly to embrace feedback from all interested parties.
We have spent time at ubu trying to understand this picture. We were greatly enlightened by the work of Stephen Covey, adopting his “Speed of Trust” principles.
“The ability to create, preserve and restore trust has become one of the most important skills today and it starts with each one of us learning as well as practicing them.”
We learnt that to bring about the true value of ‘Trust’ today it is critical for ourselves to first:
Develop and practice “Smart-Trust” with others
Always being transparent through straight talking
Ensuring everyone knows our interest in the issues and then listening to others
Continuously showing the evidence of our commitment, loyalty and accountability
So we are all on a journey of speaking and behaving openly to ensure others can develop ‘Trust’ in us.
