Image credit to wolfgang_hasselmann
The elephant in the room……
When things go wrong in any organisation, it is usually possible to trace back the threads of the breakdown to two things.
Firstly, it will most certainly have been due to ineffective communication.
Secondly, it will have been due to a problem in a working relationship.
Communication and relationships are at the heart of all behaviours in all organisations.
Obvious?
So, why is it then, that so many activities don’t go exactly to plan? If this is so obvious, why do high-performing, skilled and experienced people fall foul of these two factors (communication and relationships)?
In my experience, there is an elephant in all rooms in which discussions are being had about things not going well.
It is the trust elephant!
The highly regarded world famous guru, Stephen Covey said “Trust is the glue of life. It’s the most essential ingredient in effective communication. It’s the foundational principle that holds all relationships”.
Covey’s book “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People” ignited a generation of researchers to investigate workplace behaviours.
Following in his footsteps, one of the world’s leading experts on the topic of trust, Dr John Blakey, spent six years for his PhD research interviewing CEOs and employees across 600 companies. His work has improved standards of leadership performance throughout many first class organisations.
Blakey’s “ The Trusted Executive” model explores a wealth of academic research alongside case studies and practical explorations of the factors which develop leadership skills in this most significant aspect of leadership.
My take on this is:
You can only lead if you have followers.
Why would a person follow you, if they did not trust you?
What Blakey’s research uncovered is that:
‘Leaders can no longer trust in power: instead, they must rely upon the power of trust’.
Charles Green.
Blakey explores this shift in The Trusted Executive and highlights the shift from a leadership model based on power and authority – towards the emphasis on stewardship.
Organisations must move away from a single bottom line – based on intellectual ability and authority, to the triple bottom line comprising three pillars.
These pillars are:
- Ability
- Integrity
- Benevolence
His academic research-based formula for trustworthiness is as follows:
Trustworthiness = ability x integrity x benevolence
In order for me to give you my trust – you must show me you are trustworthy.
One of the most influential businesses of our generation is undoubtedly Google. They carried out significant research into “What makes a perfect team?”
Their findings can be summarised as “psychological safety”.
Q: How does an organisation build this?
A: Through trust-based relationships.
Blakey’s work revealed that there are nine leadership habits, which must be present in order to provide results, relationships and reputation (the triple bottom line – according to Blakey – otherwise stated as – people, planet, profit.)
Blakey’s model neatly and effectively captures these behaviours as follows:
Under the pillar of Ability are:
- Choosing to deliver
- Choosing to coach
- Choosing to be consistent
Under the pillar of Integrity are:
- Choosing to be honest
- Choosing to be open
- Choosing to humble
Under the pillar of Benevolence are:
- Choosing to evangelise
- Choosing to be brave
- Choosing to be kind
If you would like to explore these habits please join me for my series of LinkedIn Live shows starting February 14th at 3.00 pm and following each working day for 9 days. I will be discussing each of the 9 habits individually with my fellow members of The Trusted Executive team of associate coaches.