Recently, I watched one the single most amazing TED talks I have ever seen. Frances Frei, a Harvard Business School professor, tips the traditional perspective of ‘trust’ – as a foundational tenant of leadership – on it’s ear. She is clearly brilliant. Funny. Direct. Unassuming. And her cadence and enunciation held the audience captive until […]
Recently, I had a colleague tell me a story which hit me square between the eyes. It shed light on a glaring realization and lesson which I feel compelled to offer, and from which we can all learn. Here is the story: His friend, with whom he was in business, betrayed him through omission to […]
Over the past decade, I have built a company committed to helping individuals, from all walks of life, become the most successful, inspirational, and authentic leaders possible. It has been a humbling privilege to learn from and contribute to their journeys. Recently, a senior leadership team, with whom I have been working, asked me for […]
I can assure you, each person reading this has most certainly experienced a broken relationship due to the break down of trust. This breakdown could be in the form of a spouse cheating on them or a colleague using information (which you developed or found) as if it were their own with no accreditation to you. It could be someone outright stealing a concept from a keynote or workshop, and using it as if it were their own. Or it could be a so-called friend or colleague saying one thing to your face and calling you a ‘friend’ only to have them back-stabbing you with unflattering commentary or falsehoods behind your back. Let’s face it, trust is so integral to our relationships that we often take it for granted; yet in an era marked by business scandals and a desire for accountability – we clearly need to nurture trust in our professional and personal lives. Where in the world has all the trust gone? And what do we do about it?
Over the past several years, there has been an onslaught of E-friendly, organic, and 100% natural products and services being offered. I have been a fan of Whole Foods Market since it was founded back in 1980 in Austin, Texas. They have built a credible and reliable brand for their strict standards relative to the products they offer. Does this really matter? I mean…does this translate to real ROI??
A few years ago I wrote a piece entitled: ‘Truth, Trust and Transparency – where is the line for you?” This post was extremely popular amongst my clients. Not surprisingly, the topic of transparency in leadership continues to be in the forefront of business leaders’ minds. What are we talking about?
Trust can often been an illusive component in business. We have all been privvy to empty conversations, vapid meetings, and glad-handing all void of true trust in the other person/persons in the room. From what many of my clients share, the pervasiveness of social media and technology in business can help or hinder trust in an organization. So, what can we as leaders do to foster a culture of trust in our organizations and between our teams?
Lack of trust appears to be a common challenge among teams. Why is this? Competition within the organization, overzealous individual ambitions, and prior historical experiences all factor into this being the case. Yet, when we look this harsh reality in the eye, can we move forward. We must work to understand and appreciate our differences, and our experiences up until now. We must reveal our individual and collective vulnerabilities. Only through a conscious process of building trust, can our teams optimize their effectiveness.