The Critical Importance of Trust for Employees and Organizations

Stephen M. R. Covey, a foremost business consultant, wrote “The Speed of Trust”. He insisted that “it is the speed at which trust is established with clients, employees, and all stakeholders and that it is the single most critical component of a successful leader and organization”.

CEO’s were strongly supportive of Covey’s assertion. “Trust is the intangible asset that can help assure the long-term sustainability of any organization or enterprise” William G. Parrettt, Senior Partner Deloitte & Touche. “Trust is the key to the speed of our growth” Davis Neeleman, founder and CEO, JetBlue. “Trust reduces transaction costs; it reduces the need for litigation and speeds commerce; it actually lubricates organizations and societies” Marilyn Carlson Nelson, Chairman and CEO Carlson Companies. “The speed of trust [.] superbly achieves the goal of providing a road map to peak performance, both for individuals and organizations” J.W. Marriott, Jr. Chairman and CEO, Marriott International, Inc. “Lack of trust within an organization saps its energy, foster climate of suspicion and second-guessing, completely devastates teamwork and replaces it with internal politics” Koh Boon Hwee, former Chairman Singapore Airlines. “Trust is the fundamental building block of a brand” Horst H. Schulze, former founding President and COO, The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company.

Covey insists that Trust depends on behavior. “The truth is that in every relationship—personal and professional—what you do has far greater impact than anything you say. [.] You can say you want to engage in win-win negotiation—but unless your behavior shows that you really mean it, you will come across as insincere. You can say your company puts the customer first. You can say that you recognize people as your most important asset. [.]You can say all of these things, but unless you actually do them, your words will not build trust; in fact, they will destroy it. Good words have their place. They signal behavior. They declare intent. They can create enormous hope. And when those words are followed by validating behavior, they increase trust, sometimes dramatically. But when the behavior doesn’t follow or doesn’t match the verbal message, words turn into withdrawals.”

Covey’s mentions 13 behaviors: “Talk Straight”, “Demonstrate Respect”, “Create Transparency”, “Right Wrongs”, “Show Loyalty”, “Deliver Results”, “Get Better”, “Confront Reality”, “Clarify Expectations”, “Practice Accountability”, “Listen First”, “Keep Commitments”, and “Extend Trust”.

What Covey calls “behavior” is to be sustained by and demonstrates one or several virtues or good stable habits. For example, “Talk Straight” must be supported by the good habit of “Truthfulness”; “Demonstrate Respect” must be supported by the good habits of “Generosity” and “Magnanimity”.

Thus, all of the 13 behaviors mentioned by Covey can be tested on recruitment candidates by 15 of the 26 good habits of the Alexander the Great Personality Test at goAlexTest.com (meaning that there are 11 more good habits that we consider very important for any candidate). Shouldn’t recruiters vet candidates for being able to contribute trustfulness but also trusting qualities to their clients?

What do you think?