Trust Works (book by Blanchard et al.)

Trust Works

Ken Blanchard, Cynthia Olmstead, Martha Lawrence

Trust Works

 Like most Blanchard books, this is a combination of parable, framework and examples. In this case, the topic is trust. The book is quite simple and so is this summary.

 The authors propose that a person will trust another person when four things are true. The person must be able, believable, connected and dependable. They call this the ABCD model of trust.

 Able relates to competence. It is hard to trust an incompetent person.

Believable relates to their sincerity, honesty, non-judgmental attitude, and willingness to admit mistakes and maintain confidences.

Connected relates to the ability to listen, show empathy, ask for and offer help.

Dependability is related to doing what you say you will, being organized, accountable and timely.

 Some behaviors build trust and others break it. Good work, done on time builds trust. A sloppy job delivered only after additional requests breaks trust. The book comments that trust may hinges on little things. Many little things, done right or wrong, may affect trust. Equally, many little things done right can be overcome but one big mistake. Because nobody is perfect, it is important to know what to do when trust is broken.

Acknowledge that there is a problem. Ignoring the problem probably will make things worse in the long run.

Admit your own role in creating the break. To be clear, your role might be a small portion of the problem, but you probably have some culpability. It is important to recognize and admit your contribution.

Apologize for bad behavior in the situation, sincerely. A fake apology is usually obvious and makes the problem worse.

Assess together with the other person or people what caused the problem and what might be done to improve the situation

Agree on future actions to avoid mistakes and follow through on those actions.

The ability to build trust is the defining competency for leaders in the twenty-first century. Smart organizations are increasingly taking proactive steps to build high-trust cultures….With trust, creativity flourishes, productivity rises, barriers are overcome, and relationships deepen. Without it, people bail on relationships and leave organizations, cynicism reigns, progress grinds to a halt, and self-interest trumps the common good. For organizations to thrive, trust is not a nice-to-have; it’s a must have.*

 Comment and interpretation:

• This is a simple book about a topic that I would have said was really complicated. But their ABCD model seems to cover many of the most common trust breaking behaviors.
• I also think it is interesting that they promote a totality view of trust. Trust requires all four components to be present. Three of four is not enough.
• The book discusses that trust needs to be symmetric. In the long run, it will be hard for me to trust you, if you do not trust me. Leaders wishing to create a trusting culture must find ways to express their trust of others. In this respect, building trust may start out as a unilateral activity with trust building being a reaction to trustworthy behavior. Equally, followers may need to act unilaterally to enable leaders to trust them. But, and I think this is a big but, whoever acts first should probably not set their expectations very high. The book mentions that trust-building is slow (even if it went fast in the parables and examples) and if people expect instant gratification, they are setting themselves up for disappointment. In this respect, building trust is an act of patient faith.

 *text in italics is directly quoted from the book