Trust: Hot Leadership Topic
The Center for Public Leadership at Harvard published their 2005 list of America 's Best Leaders in the October 31 st issue of US News and World Report . A prestigious panel of experts, who are leaders themselves, led by David Gergin, Director of the Center, and Warren Bennis, a noted leadership authority, made the selections from more than 300 nominees. The bipartisan panel took turns advocating and then opposing the finalists. We at CoveyLink were not surprised by any of the 25, and it was very validating to see high trust as a thread through the best leaders' behavior.
Collin Powell, one of the 25, had this to say about leadership, “You've got to trust people…you've got to let people make mistakes and not ground them off about it.” US News added this quote from his autobiography, “When they fall down, pick 'em up, dust 'em off, pat them on the back, and move 'em on.” Thomas Friedman, author of The World is Flat , speaking of terrorists said, “They take ordinary objects from our daily lives, shoes and backpacks and airplanes, and turn them into weapons of mass destruction. They try to destroy the trust that is the very fabric of our open society.” Oprah said, “What I've learned is when I don't know what to do, do nothing. Sit still and listen for that small voice that will always lead you and guide you. If you're quiet and listen, you will hear it.” Rick Warren, author of The Purpose Driven Life , said, “The greatest leaders are those that serve others. A good leader exists for the people, not the other way around.” Roger Ailes, CEO of Fox News Channel, says his recipe for leadership success is: “Take responsibility and make decisions, encourage your troops, joke with 'em, make sure work's fun, tell 'em the truth, stay open, take responsibility if you screw it up, change the decisions that are bad as quickly as possible.”
We resonate with and strongly advocate the behaviors of these high trust leaders. Trust remains the most relevant and refreshing aspect of leadership and business today. Not only do the best leaders tout it, but everyone seems to have a trust story or example about how trust has affected their relationships, careers, and businesses.
For example, our new friends, Arthur and June Sueko Fong, are owners of Fong Imports, an Asian antique shop in Laguna Beach , California . When we were in their shop last week, Arthur asked what we did for a living. We told him we were leadership consultants and helped companies increase their profits through the speed of trust. His immediate response was that trust was instrumental to his success in business. He shared this with us: “When I was 12 years old, my uncles were in the import business in Chinatown in L.A. They trusted me to take the deposit to the bank. It was thousands of dollars, yet they trusted me, 12-year-old Arthur Fong. Not only did they trust me to go to the bank, but they had me go to the docks and sign for the shipments of the imports. Because they trusted me, I did not let them down.”
Arthur commented further that it was the trust of his uncles that put him in the import business as an adult and that, to this day, trust is the backbone of his business. He does not need to go to China and Japan on buying trips, but relies on trusted relationships in Asia to both select and ship merchandise to his shop in the USA. Trust is also critical to his customers. He adds, “They know they can trust me to charge fair prices.” We can attest to that; we purchased several items that would have been twice as much in another shop!
Who Trusts You?
Keep making waves,
CoveyLink
