7 - The Trust Equation - Stephen M.R. Covey on Trust and Inspire

Stephen speaks about how he initially focused on the business side of things while his father was the “larger than life” thought leader. He speaks about how, over time, his insights around the high cost of low trust have emerged and how he has found his voice a thought leader over time.

Stephen speaks about how Command and Control has evolved from being authoritarian in the Industrial age to becoming what he calls “Enlightened Command and Control” where the underlying paradigm is still about treating people as assets. He brings out the nuances of Trust and Inspire and how the paradigm is very different from enlightened command and control.

Stephen speaks about how a lot of us grow up in the context of scarcity in our early years but as we grow to leadership levels, we need to embrace a very different paradigm of abundance to lead by trusting and inspiring. He speaks about how we might have scarcity of resources but we all have access to an abundance of possibilities.

Stephen speaks about five underlying beliefs that are at the heart of a Trust and Inspire approach. 1) People have greatness inside of them 2) People are whole in body, heart, mind and spirit 3) There is enough for everyone (abundance) 4) Leadership is about responsibility, not rights (stewardship) 5) My job as a leader is to go first

Stephen speaks about how we can tune into micro-moments where we get a glimpse of what somebody might be capable of. He says that if we don’t look for it, we will never find it. He goes on to talk about the four steps involved in unlocking the potential of the person – See, Communicate, Develop, Unleash.

Stephen speaks about why Fast is Slow while Slow is Fast when it comes to matters of trust. He speaks about the upfront investment that’s often needed in running Trust and Inspire in a large organization. But he goes on to make the distinction between efficiency and effectiveness when it comes to these matters.

Stephen speaks about the Trust equation that’s often attributed to Charles Green and David Maister. He reconciles his model around Trust with the various variables in the Trust Equation (Credibility, Reliability, Intimacy and Self Orientation). He also goes on to make the distinction between being Trustworthy and Extending Trust in a relationship.

Stephen speaks about some elements to look out for before extending trust to somebody. He speaks about three things in this context 1) Job to be done 2) Risks and stakes involved 3) Credibility of the person on the other side

Stephen speaks about how we can lead from a paradigm of ‘Trust and Inspire’ but choose to go ‘Command and Control’ in the moment depending on the context in front of us. He goes on to speak about how the people around us would experience the same action very differently depending on the paradigm we