David Tucker
/davetucker
Founder & CEO @glean.co
David Tucker
4y ago
In the final part of this series based on Stephen Covey's bestseller "The Speed of Trust" we will explore how to leverage trust.
Trust appropriately
Trust is the foundation of rich, productive relationships. It facilitates meaningful connections with others, helping you get more done and be more efficient.
However, that does not mean that one should blindly trust every person with everything. It is important to exercise good judgement when deciding who to trust with what.
Remember, trust is making something important to you vulnerable to the actions of someone else. You should default to trust over suspicion whilst maintaining a high vigilance for potential risks.
A word of warning! As humans we are biologically programmed for trust. We also often tend to think ourselves as less likely to experience unfortunate events and more likely to experience fortunate events compared to others. We therefore misjudge the probability of a bad outcome due to misplaced trust. Stay vigilant for red flags!
Spheres of Trust
The benefits of trust begin with you and radiate outwards.
1. Self Trust
Trust begins with the self. Covey believe that self-trust is a function of harmony between your principles, your motives, your capabilities, and your track record. Any dissonance between the person you think you are and your behaviour can erode your self-trust. Living in accordance with our values is one way we develop self-trust, which leads to greater confidence.
Self-trust is connected to the concept of "self-efficacy" which has been linked to resilience, performance and improved mental health. It's really important!
After all, whether you think you can or you can't, you're probably right.
2. Interpersonal Trust
If you're a trustworthy person, you consistently demonstrate your values and people notice. This builds trust because people know what to expect from you.
It's worth noting that whilst people are often willing to forgive breaches of trust involving capabilities and track record, they are much less willing when it comes to breaches involving principles and motives. Consistency is key!
3. Team Trust
Covey highlights a bunch of symptoms of low team trust and suggests what you can do to improve it.
Read here for more information on this.
4. Reputation
This sphere encompasses the way your organisation is viewed by the rest of the world. People are more likely to trust your company when they see alignment between its nature (mission statement, values etc.) and its track record.
I think it goes without saying that organisations that are perceived as trustworthy reap a huge benefit.
5. Collective Trust
Trust is integral to a functioning society. But with more options than ever and relationships becoming more numerous but less personal, knowing when and how to trust is becoming more difficult.
This means that increasingly, people are gravitating towards organisations and individuals who can demonstrate their trustworthiness. This should be seen as a competitive advantage for those companies that are able to gain the trust of modern customers.
David Tucker
4y ago
In part 1 we established what trust is and why it is important. In part 2 we explore how one can build it.
Rules for building trust
Now we are really getting to the good stuff! Ever since I came across this equation for diagnosing and repairing trust I've been curious about how to practically go about building trust. This is useful for all people, but it's especially useful for leaders. When things feel hard it's hard to diagnose the root cause; in my experience a lack of trust between individuals and/or teams is often at least part of the problem.
Whilst Brene Brown lists a considered 7 Elements of Trust, Covey toys with superstition highlighting "13 behaviours" that build trust. This inevitably leads to unnecessary overlap between the concepts.
Here are 4 rules that cover Covey's points.
Rule #1: Be Authentic
In part 1 we talked about how two of the building blocks of trust were your intentions and motivations. People should come away from conversations with you with the right impression of your intentions and motivations. When you spin a story or only tell a half truth people may read this as being inauthentic.
This is not as easy as "just tell everyone everything". There is a skill in being able to come across as authentic whilst still only sharing what is prudent to. Diplomats are masters at this. For leaders, it is important to develop the skill of having difficult conversations.
Rule #2: Treat People Well
Covey believes that this takes consideration for others and humility. He suggests active listening as a core way of showing consideration.
This is also a three-word summary of one of my favourite books ever.
Rule #3: Meet expectations
This combines competency with clear communication.
In a challenging environment, there needs to be some grace with not achieving results. What is unacceptable, however, is not being forthright about this. Failure is one of the best ways to learn but your ability to do so is dependent on your attitude.
So be clear about what you are hoping to achieve and when. Then if things are off plan, be clear about why you're behind and what you are going to do about it.
A part of this is about setting boundaries. If you are unable to do something, just say so!
Rule #4: Be Trusting
Covey argues that when people are trusted, they almost always rise to the occasion. I think the caveat is that individuals also need to have been successful with the other 3 rules for this to be true.
People have a natural inclination to trust and an innate desire to be trusted. Conversely, when people aren't trusted, they tend to underperform.
The more responsibility people feel for something, the more ownership they will take. The more ownership they take, the more effort they will put into that thing.
Just as creating lasting peace requires at least one peacemaker to put differences aside, trust requires at least one person to be vulnerable and trust first. In an organisation or team, that needs to be the leader.
David Tucker
4y ago
Continuing the theme of trust, here are some reflections on international best-seller "The Speed of Trust" by Stephen M.R. Covey (2006).
Trust is our Most Valuable Asset
Covey introduces a couple of concepts around the value of trust but I think the ones most important to grasp are:
Trust helps you achieve outcomes more efficiently (hence the title The Speed of Trust). I make a similar point in a previous post so I won't spend time explaining here.
Trust improves the results of your efforts. Covey represents this idea by modifying the classic business equation Results = Strategy x Execution and adding trust as a multiplier:
Results = Trust (Strategy x Execution)
Just as the Speed of Trust isn't a number you can google (believe me, I tried), I don't think this equation is meant to be measurable either. Covey's point is, all things being equal, someone executing who has already built trust with their audience will get significantly better results than someone who is starting from zero.
For example, a business person who has a large network that trusts her is going to be more successful than someone who doesn't. This is both true for individuals and brands, which is one reason I'm such a large advocate for investing heavily in brand reputation. It is also one reason why they say your network is your networth.
Aside from the fact people generally prefer to support people they like, you can flip this and understand it from the customer perspective as a risk/reward equation. Any buyer is going to reduce the risk and effort in getting the expected results. Trust and reputation achieves this.
Defining Trustworthiness
According to Covey, trust comes from credibility, which has four components: principles, motives, skills, and track record. You can think of these as the building blocks of trust.
Principles and Motives
Covey believes these are a function of your character, rather than your personality. Your principles shape how you interpret and respond to your circumstances. Your principles inform your motives, which in turn, drive your actions.
This is very related to the concept of Integrity which I believe is about acting in accordance with your principles. I think Covey misses a trick here by not pointing out that, as falliable humans, it is not a given that our principles and motives will always lead to consistent action. The key here is for people to know that there will be consistent behaviour irrespective of context. It's why people don't tend to look for lawyers or accountants who are wild and impulsive.
Skills and Track Record
These are a function of your abilities, which are situational. Covey argues that you need to have the appropriate skill for a given situation for people to trust you. By consistently producing results, you generate a track record, which builds trust.
This is an important point and often overlooked. Results matter! However, this framing doesn't work well for highly challenging and innovative environments where results are never guaranteed - such as startups. It would be unfair to claim the scientists working on nuclear fusion have eroded the public's trust in their skills because they haven't commercialised a reactor yet. It's a hard problem!
To maintain trust in a highly uncertain environment you need to consistently demonstrate good judgement as well as take complete responsibility for both your actions and inaction. In this context, an individual that is clearly out of their depth can maintain trust by communicating this. Which comes back to the importance of integrity.
David Tucker
4y ago
One of the great joys of startup life is an increased sense of awe at the incredible complexity of the modern world. As you realise how difficult it is to bring into reality the simplest of ideas you begin to wonder how anyone got anything off the ground at all.
Invariably many of the biggest challenges come down to having to work with other people. This is essentially unavoidable.
People are complex. We all have our different experiences, strengths, weaknesses, opinions and ideas. We create narrative-based lenses through which we view the world in order to filter the chaos and complexity into something comprehendible. Each lens is unique and so the same words, ideas and concepts might mean different things to different people.
Image not my own. Original source here.
What's more, we are all falliable, which is why simply cloning ourselves would not be a solution to the problem, even if it were possible. We need other people to make up for our weaknesses.
That's why working as a team is the most powerful thing you can do to get things done. It also has the potential to be one of the most frustrating.
The perfect team, according to Google
Google's Project Aristotle is now the thing of legend. Its goal: to answer the question "What makes a team effective at Google?"
Now, given the fact that Google was only founded a few decades ago and humanity had already managed to get a lot done before then, it would be a stretch to consider Google's findings a completely new discovery. But it did create awareness of some of the fundamental challenges facing knowledge workers that can, and should, be overcome.
Of the Five Keys to Success, the one that gets the most attention is Psychological Safety:
Team members must be comfortable in taking risks and speaking their minds. They need to know that their team members will support their actions and not ridicule them. Everyone on the team has to feel as though they won’t be made examples of if something doesn’t go right which they suggested or promoted.
Patrick Lencioni describes this concept as "trust" and points to it as being the foundation of good teamwork in his classic The Five Dysfunctions of a Team.
Note: if you haven't read this yet buy a copy and cancel your weekend plans. It's essential reading for any leader.
Why this is so important
It turns out, no one person is right 100% of the time and no one person can predict the future 100% accurately. Shocking, I know.
Whenever you do anything new, you invite risk. Whenever you attempt to solve a new problem, it's not guaranteed your solution will work out. Each new customer, new campaign, new project are all like snowflakes - unique, delicate and beautiful in their own way.
The best outcomes are forged through the uncomfortable process of discarding ideas that are worse than other ideas. And sometimes you need to test the ideas before you can know whether they are good or not. This is why some appetite for risk is necessary for getting things done.
It's for this reason that individuals need to have the trust that people will still respect and value them: even if they suggest a bad idea; or if they challenge someone with more authority than them; and especially if the team goes ahead with their idea and it wastes a ton of time and money.
Trust and psychological safety within teams needs to be consciously created by its leader. If you're working with ambitious and competitive individuals, it's unlikely to form naturally.
David Tucker
4y ago
If I could go back in time 15 years I would either take with me a copy of Grays Sports Almanac or I would take absolutely nothing and instead set up a business consultancy advising on the importance of 'company culture', charging businesses of all shapes and sizes huge sums to help them define their mission, vision and values. I think both would have been equally as lucrative.
I am of course joking. But it's hard to deny that there has been a huge emphasis placed on the importance of culture and values for all businesses over this period. I actually think this is great; culture truly is the greatest competitive advantage. But with this attention has come some unhealthy cynicism.
Take for example this HBR article where the author admits to literally banning businesses from using 'Integrity' as a value. Her reasoning?
"Every company should operate ethically and with integrity – and by stating this concept as one of your core values, you raise the question of why you have to point it out."
She seems to take exception to the fact that many businesses reference "ethical behaviour" in their values, thus not making it a differentiator, citing this article which presents research actually extolling the benefits of ethics-based values.
Yes, every company should operate ethically, but companies are made up of people and people are fallable. So how do you make that happen?
In defense of Integrity
The thing about acting with integrity is that it is really easy, until it isn't.
Maintaining integrity becomes hard when there are real consequences to standing up for your truth. Brené Brown puts it like this:
“Integrity is choosing courage over comfort; choosing what is right over what is fun, fast, or easy; and choosing to practice our values rather than simply professing them.”
It's not just those bad people who embezzle money or cheat and lie that lack integrity - it's most of us. Ask yourself:
Am I genuinely truthful and honest with myself?
Am I candid with others? Or do I sometimes hold back from communicating what I really think to prevent hurting someone's feelings?
Will I disagree with someone in a meeting even if it could embarass me?
Do I say things about people that I wouldn't say to them directly?
True integrity really does take courage! And it's ok if we fail sometimes. It is hard.
But the benefits of consistently demonstrating integrity is that people trust your intentions and motives. They know you will do the right thing, even when no one is watching. They know that if there is an issue between you or if you disagree about something important then you'd say so. And you certainly wouldn't ever harbour a secret grudge.
In high pressure, challenging environments, it is easy for people to misinterpret words or behaviours. That then creates unhelpful narratives and insecurities which create division and cause defensiveness. When people trust your intentions through your demonstration of integrity, they will be more likely to offer a generous interpretation to your actions.
Ultimately, integrity is essential for truly trusting relationships.
David Tucker
4y ago
We are all aware of the micro manager - the person that is constantly checking in to see if something is done, or being very specific about how something should get done. You may even be one yourself at times.
We also all know that it's not the most efficient use of time. And it's unlikely to lead to the most fulfilling work or relationships.
The root cause? A lack of trust.
Symptoms of reduced trust
A great simple test for how much trust you actually have with another person is the amount you need to communicate around your behaviours, either in advance or retrospectively.
Think about your relationship with your best friend. How much do you need to explain to each other about your actions on a day-to-day basis? Probably very little. You implicitely know that you will be thinking about what is best for the other person without needing to say much at all.
If that was your most hated enemy, you would likely be suspicious of their every action. It wouldn't matter how much they defended their behaviour, you would likely not believe a word.
This is an extreme example, but there are other more common signs that you may not have complete trust in a person or team:
You end up doing a lot of work yourself rather than delegating it
You find yourself in a lot of meetings
You write very specific and detailed instructions
You keep bits of information to yourself rather than being completely transparent
You ask people to check with you before they do certain things
That's not to say these are bad things. If someone is new to a role, junior, or lacking context then these can be helpful and supportive things to do. In fact, there are probably very few people you should trust absolutely. But less trust will make you busier and less effective.
This is why it is worth reflecting on your behaviours and asking yourself what would need to be true for you to increase your trust.
This is part two in a series about trust. Read part one here.
David Tucker
4y ago
I recently signed up for Dickie Bush & Nicolas Cole's cohort-based course, Ship 30 for 30.
I have spent over a decade reading the opinions, insights and ideas of others online. Moreover, doing so has been invaluable on my journey as CEO of Glean.
It was time to start sharing what I had learned.
Why I want to write online:
"How can I know what I think until I see what I say?“
I believe conversation and discussion to be essential components of the forging of good ideas. The hammering of concepts only increases their strength. Why limit this to those only in my immediate physical vicinity when there is a world of much more learned people at there for me to speak with?
"Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication."
Through the process of writing one can understand how to express complex thoughts in simple terms.
I have things to say on some important topics that I would like to share with the world.
Equally, I would like to know what the world thinks of what I have to say.
What next?
Over the next 30 days, I plan on writing about three very different topics:
Why students drop out of college and what we can do about it
What we're doing and Glean and why it matters
Lessons learned on the journey so far
Join me as I start my online writing journey. I'm super open to thoughts and feedback so please comment!