As I was preparing to speak to you today, I was reminded of a story by Dr. Sam Kamalesan that I heard many years ago. It went like this:
A boy whom we shall call Peter, was walking down the street, fingering all the marbles that he had in his pocket, enjoying his day, when he came across his friend Mary. She was walking towards him with a chocolate bar in each hand, eating it and enjoying it. Peter started craving the chocolate. So he asked Mary for the chocolate. Mary replied, "What will you give me in return?" Peter had nothing except for the marbles in his pocket. Really wanting the chocolate, Peter jiggled his marbles and then said, "I'll give you all my marbles." Mary knew that the marbles meant a great deal to Peter and thought that even though she didn't really want them, it was a good deal as they were something that Peter really liked. So she said, "Okay. Give me all your marbles, I'll give you all the chocolate."
Peter put his hand in his pocket and felt around very carefully till he found that one marble, the old trusted one that was chipped and worn with use. Then he pushed it to the end and pulled all the rest of the marbles out and gave them to Mary. In return, she gave him her chocolates. As he walked away, eating the chocolate, a thought suddenly struck him. He turned back to her and said, "Hey, Mary! Did you give me all your chocolates?"
Trust begets trust and mistrust begets mistrust. When we are devious in some ways, we expect the same deviousness in other people's behavior. A small grocery store in the place where I grew up had a sign put up by the owner – WE TRUST IN GOD; REST STRICTLY IN CASH.
Trust is at such a premium today. As we look at all that is happening around, we begin to ask the question of people whom we would normally trust: "Are they trustworthy? Is the place where I work a trustworthy place? Are my colleagues trustworthy?"
Ken Blanchard did a study where research showed that almost 60% of individuals indicated that they had left an organization due to trust issues, citing lack of communication and dishonesty as key contributing factors.
I got an email from McKinsey and Company Insights and Publications that I have a subscription with, and there was an interview with Richard Edelman where he talks about how leaders must regain trust. He goes on to say, "Previously, most respected companies were the ones where if you asked the question – 'Do you have great operations?' and the answer was 'Yes', then the company could be trusted. Or, 'Do you have a great new product machine?' These were the things that really drove trust. But, since 2008, operations has actually moved down the list of importance. The new gold is actually in engagement and integrity." Engaging with the consumer, engaging with the customer, engaging with people outside.
He references PepsiCo's Indra Nooyi and says, "Her ability to treat employees well, to put value on a sustainable product array, to persuade people behind her to follow on this idea of 'better for you' foods and recasting the portfolio – not just soda and chips but oatmeal and other things. This is the new gold. CEO should now mean 'Chief Engagement Officer'. Somehow, there needs to be an engagement that happens, that allows for a platform of trust to be created."
He goes on to say, "Most companies are beginning to realize that there are four things that you can do to regain trust.
1. Pay the taxes. Whatever needs to be paid, pay it.
2. Do right by your employees.
3. Run a responsible supply chain.
4. Engage.
Are we trustworthy? Do people around us look at us and say, "This is an absolutely trustworthy person"?
George MacDonald says, "To be trusted is a greater compliment than being loved." We are not in organizations to be loved. We are there because we ought to earn respect and be able to accomplish the things that we have been picked and placed in that company for.
A search on Google Scholar indicates that books and journals that had to do with trust and organizational leadership numbered about a few hundred per annum in the 1960s. They jumped to low thousands in the 1070s. They approached the 10,000 mark in the 1990s. During the early years of this century, there are about 40,000 publications per year brought out that have to do with trust in organizations. As we look at this, we realize that the presence and role of trust in organizational life, including the exercise of leadership is so very important. In fact, I would say that trust is one of the foundational pillars of respect.
I have often quoted John Maxwell who says, "In the five levels of leadership, the ultimate level of leadership is where people follow you because you've earned their trust. They respect you not because of your title or position; they have respect for YOU."
So how do you regain trust? Ken Blanchard, in his article on Leadership, says, "There are four elements of trust – the ABCDs of trust.
1. Able – demonstrating competence. Do you know how to get the job done? Do you know how to produce results? Do you have the skills to make things happen? When you have the ability, people can trust you.
2. Believable – acting with integrity. You must have honesty in your dealings with people. You must treat people equitably.
3. Connected – demonstrating care and concern for other people. You must have a connection with people, focus on people, be able to identify needs. It must be supported by good communication skills. Leaders need to openly share information about the organization and about themselves.
4. Dependable – reliably following through on what the leaders say that they are going to do. we need to be accountable for all our actions.
So the question for us today is – are we trustworthy? Do people look at us and say, 'The life that you live, the decisions that you make, the behavior that you showcase makes me want to trust you'? Or are we holding on to our marbles and thinking that other people are doing the same? In the new norm that companies have today, it must come down to us. To create a culture of trust in an organization, it must begin with us. We must be trustworthy.
I love this quote from our Scriptures: God keeps us in perfect peace when our mind is on Him because that involves trusting Him. And He is trustworthy and therefore, we ought to be too.
Are we trustworthy in every area of our lives? Maybe today, if there are areas where we are not, we can make the change and become men and women who can be trusted completely. That's my prayer for us.
Let me pray with you. Almighty God, bless each one on this call. I pray that we would be men and women of trust and above all, that we could be trustworthy by trusting you and allowing you to work through us so that godly things begin to happen through us. And people get to know us as trustworthy individuals and our companies, the organizations that we work for will be trustworthy because of us. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
• "Richard Edelman on How Leaders Can Regain the Public's Trust." http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/leading_in_the_21st_century/Richard_Edelman_on_how_leaders_can_regain_the_publics_trust?cid=other-eml-alt-mip-mck-oth-1404
• Data on increasing publications on trust: http://complexityandmanagement.wordpress.com/2012/11/23/trust-in-organisations/
• George MacDonald quote: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/topics/topic_trust.html
• Ken Blanchard, "Building Trust," http://www.kenblanchard.com/img/pub/Blanchard-Building-Trust.pdf
• Bible quote: Isaiah 26:3-4
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