Trust - The Key to Confidence

This week’s post comes to you as one of a three-part series.  Dr. Todd Wangsgard, a FranklinCovey Consultant, elaborates on Trust as the Key to Confidence.  Enjoy! ______________________________________________________________

Leadership at the Speed of Trust

A three-part series by Dr. Todd Wangsgard

Leadership and Trust – Keyword: “Confidence”

(Part 1 of 3)

 

Author of The Speed of Trust, , defines trust as “confidence born of the character and competence of an individual or organization.” This simple yet complete definition of an otherwise squishy subject takes into account both the feel-good side of trust in character as well as the practical side of one’s reliability in competence. Both character and competence lend confidence to those who would consider following any leader. And more than ever before, trust (or confidence) is sought after by an increasingly globally savvy audience of human beings who see the impact that geo-political activities are having on their individual well-being.



SMRC (as we affectionately call the author at FranklinCovey) also boldly asserts that, “trust is the key competency of the new global economy.” Again, as you replace “trust” in that sentence with “confidence,” one can see how the currency of trust is not just a “nice-to-have,” but rather an absolute imperative for leadership effectiveness under any circumstances. It is key, because without it, business plans, corporate promises, financial metrics and reports all come under the scrutiny of one question: “Yes, but what should we believe?”

The Speed of Trust book and classroom experience offer several models of thinking to better understand and define trust that breaks the subject down into understandable water cooler discussions. The Four Cores of Self Trust that subdivide Character into one’s integrity and intent and Competence into capabilities and results. The Five Waves of Trust that any leader must assess and develop within, including Self Trust, Relationship Trust, Organizational (or team) Trust, Market Trust, and Societal Trust. The 13 Behaviors of High Trust, including Talk Straight, Create Transparency, Right Wrongs, Get Better and nine others.  (Click here to learn how The Speed of Trust Process works).

I recently worked with a successful CEO in the manufacturing and fulfillment business who has truly lived out the kind of trustworthy behavior described by SMRC. He has worked side-by-side (while the CEO) with frontline employees on the manufacturing line to learn what they do and to help keep costs down during a recent recession (Show Loyalty, Deliver Results, Confront Reality, Practice Accountability). He has made an effort to get to know every single employee in the company and remembers to send them a hand-written birthday greeting each year (Demonstrate Respect, Show Loyalty). While announcing a 15% pay cut for himself, he asked all exempt associates to accept a 7½% pay cut to help off-set their losses or agree to termination with a 3-months’ salary severance package (at their higher rate of pay). No one left and all were subsequently rewarded with “back-pay” on their lost wages after a couple successful intervening years and given a sizeable bonus (Talk Straight, Create Transparency, Show Loyalty, Get Better, Keep Commitments).

The confidence that Stephen writes about and that I’ve witnessed in industry over the past 25+ years starts with a leader who has genuine confidence in himself or herself and in the associates who choose to follow. Give them a leader they can trust (the Self Trust wave) and you have a foundation upon which you will build lasting relationships, enormously successful organizations, and a brand that generates intense loyalty and growth.
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Do you want to learn more about Dr. Todd Wangsgard and the offerings he can facilitate for your organization?  Then follow this link to read his bio.  If you would be interested in visiting with Todd by phone, then please contact me to set up a meeting with Todd and your FranklinCovey Client Partner.  Check in next Friday as Todd brings you Part 2 to this series.

Helping build confidence in organizations - one at a time!

Sincerely,

John Vakidis

Associate Client Partner | FranklinCovey

214.387.9960 | john.vakidis@franklincovey.com

PS - Are you interested in learning how to leverage trust in your organization?  Consider joining us in Dallas to hear best-selling author, Stephen M.R. Covey deliver his Speed of Trust Keynote on Feb 16, 2012.  Special pricing avaialble for groups of 10 or more.  Ask me about how to get a free seat!

Networking and Trust

Today I bring you a post, written by my colleague, FranklinCovey Consultant, Mark Murphy.  Mark resides in Dallas, TX and has facilitated our programs for clients all over the globe.  Mark holds a M.S. in Organizational Behavior from BYU and brings nearly 20 years of facilitation experience to his clients.

Mark provides you with great insight today to focusing on TRUST while building your network.  As you consider connecting with others in 2012, keep these thoughts in mind.  Enjoy!

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Have you heard of Paul Revere?  Have you ever heard of William Dawes?  Both men came from the same social class and had similar educational backgrounds.  Both men rode out from Boston on the night of April 18, 1775 to announce the beginning of the Revolutionary war.  Paul Revere rode north while at the same time William Dawes rode south.  They traveled through towns that were demographically similar.  But only Paul Revere raised a militia and became famous.  Why?  In a large part because of the trust developed in his relationships.

According to the Harvard Business Review article How to Build Your Network, “Paul Revere was an information broker, a person who occupies a key role in a social network by connecting disparate groups of people.  Because Revere targeted other well-connected people during his ride, his news spread widely and quickly, as explained in Malcolm Gladwell’s The Tipping Point.

The article goes on to say that “networks deliver three unique advantages: private information, access to diverse skill sets, and power.” I want to focus here on the first of the advantages--private information. 

These days, public information is easily available through the internet and other sources.  But precisely because it is so easily accessible to so many people, public information offers much less of a competitive advantage in today’s business environment.  Private information, on the other hand, provides unique information not found in the public domain.  Private information is also, by its very nature, more subjective and less verifiable.  Therefore, its value depends on how much trust exists in the network of relationships.

Jack Welch, former CEO of General Electric, says of trust, “you know it when you feel it.”  In his book, The Speed of Trust, Stephen MR Covey says, “Simply put, trust means confidence.  The opposite of trust—distrust—is suspicion.  When you trust people, you have confidence in them—in their integrity and in their abilities. When you distrust people, you are suspicious of them—of their integrity, their agenda, their capabilities, or their track record.  It’s that simple.” As trust goes down, costs go up, and everything slows down.  As trust goes up, costs go down, and things happen much faster.

Could the trust accrued in his network of relationships be a factor in Paul Revere’s success?  Could that trust have something to do with the speed with which his message was accepted and acted upon?  I believe so.  Are you a Paul Revere or a William Dawes?

- Mark Murphy, FranklinCovey Consultant             

Copyright © 2011 - Mark Murphy

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Are you interested in learning how to build trust in your circle?  Consider joining us in Dallas to hear best-selling author, Stephen M.R. Covey deliver his Speed of Trust Keynote on Feb 16, 2012.

Do you want to learn more about Mark Murphy and the offerings he can facilitate for your organization?  Then follow this link to read his bio.  If you would be interested in visiting with Mark by phone, then please contact me to set up a meeting with Mark and your FranklinCovey Client Partner.

Also, keep your eyes open for more posts from Mark in 2012!  Become a member of this blog and you can make comments on our posts.

To your networking success in 2012!

Sincerely,

John Vakidis

Associate Client Partner | FranklinCovey

214.387.9960 | john.vakidis@franklincovey.com

Achieving Goals

Every year, millions of people will embark on a new journey to set New Year’s Resolutions.  Organizations will set new strategic goals.  Also, every year people and companies will both FAIL… again!

One key reason is that most people and organizations, have never established their core values, written a mission or vision statement.  As an individual, if you don’t know what your values are, then it is hard to get passionate about new goals.  As an organization, if your people don’t have a clue what your mission is then it is difficult for them to get engaged around your new company goals.  Consider reading a previous post titled, The 5 Stages of Performance Improvement.

It is important to re-visit your list of values, mission, vision and goals often.  If you don’t, it is easy to fall off track.  If you visit them too late, it may be difficult to achieve the goal.  Overtime, you and your people will lose confidence in themselves and in you as a leader.  Remember, at the end of the day, the success or failure of an organization depends on its leaders. 

Are you inspiring trust in the teams that you lead?  Are you executing your goals with precision year after year?  Are you unleashing the talent of the people that you have hired?  If the answer was “No” to any one of those questions, then consider making one of your goals to meet with your Client Partner in January of 2012.  I imagine you’ll be pleasantly surprised as to how FranklinCovey can help you create Predictable Results the coming year and beyond.

To your success in 2012!

Sincerely,

John Vakidis

Associate Client Partner | FranklinCovey

214.387.9960 | john.vakidis@franklincovey.com

PS - Do you lead an organization of at least 150 people?  If so, consider being my guest at our upcoming showcase, Creating a Culture of Execution on Feb 7^th in Dallas.

Leading Generations in the Workplace

Today I bring you an article, written by my colleague, Senior FranklinCovey Leadership Consultant, Haydn Shaw.  Haydn is FranklinCovey’s top thought leader around the topic of Generations in the Workplace.  He is the author of Leading Across Generations FranklinCovey’s popular ½ day workshop and a book on the twelve generational sticking points coming out in early 2012. Here are a couple of comments from two business owners at an association convention in Vegas in March:

“I thought the session was about how to hand over your business to your kids.  So I was surprised when it was about how to lead an organization of different generations.  I’m not sure I would have come if I had known, but I’m glad I did.”

“It’s really made me rethink my attitudes toward the Gen Xers and Millennials.  And I realized I am running this business the way my dad did. No wonder my kids aren’t that interested in the business. I’m going to do things differently now.”

As you think about leading your teams differently in 2012, consider Haydn’s thoughts below.  Enjoy!

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The People Challenge of the Next Decade - by Haydn Shaw

Why are people surprised at the impact the generational differences are making: because we’ve not faced this before.  For the first time in history we have four generations in the workplace and five generations of customers:

Too early to name the fifth generation but they influence discretionary spending of their parents and grandparents.  (Percentages in workforce developed from Bureau of Labor Statistics data)

With nearly a quarter of the baby boomers leaving the workplace in the next four years (the recession may push it back three or four years) and being replaced by the Millennials, figuring out how to resolve

the eleven main generational conflicts is the people challenge of the next decade . . . or two. “Ninety-six percent of Baby Boomer business owners say an exit strategy is crucial to their company, but eighty-seven percent don’t actually have one.” (BusinessWeek SMALLBIZ August/September 2008). According to The American Society of Training and Development (ASTD), 76 million Americans will retire over the next two decades but only 46 million will replace them.  No wonder it’s called a war on talent. You can’t get predictable business results in these unpredictable times without dealing with the generational challenge.  It’s that simple.

Generational conflict is impacting everything we do, from how we communicate to when we want to work and how we respond to customers. If we don’t figure out generational conflict points, internally work slows down, and externally our sales and customer satisfaction scores drop.

To read the rest of Haydn’s article, click here to download the PDF file.

As Haydn mentions in his article, “Generational conflicts are inevitable and preventable. They are inevitable in all organizations, but real problems are preventable if you’ll apply these five approaches.”

Here are links to our 3 most popular Generational offerings:

·         Leading Across Generations  (½ day consultant/facilitator-led workshop)

·         Resolving Generational Conflict: Webinar (the 2-hour webinar)

·         Keynote Speech with Haydn Shaw

For more information, please contact me today.  I’ll be happy to set up a meeting with you and your regional Client Partner.

Wishing you better leadership and team synergy in 2012!

Sincerely,

John Vakidis

Associate Client Partner | FranklinCovey

214.387.9960 | john.vakidis@franklincovey.com

PS - if you want to meet Haydn in person, consider joining us in Dallas on January 17^th.  Haydn will be facilitating a condensed version of our flagship Leadership program.  Click here for details.

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Increasing Your Team's Productivity in 2012

Over the last 20 years, FranklinCovey has educated over 25 million people in the area of human productivity.  In today’s fast paced, technology-driven world, we are asserting that extraordinary productivity is no longer defined by time management alone, but also by decision management, attention management and energy management.

With 2011 coming to a close and 2012 on the near horizon, many leaders will be thinking about increasing their team’s productivity in the coming year.  We recently launched a new program, The 5 Choices to Extraordinary Productivity that answers the 21^st century productivity problems that are plaguing many organizations.  This week we will explore this content by interviewing 3 of my colleagues that are Client Partners for Texas and Oklahoma: Matt Jarmon, Will Smith and Kellie Edmundson.

Click here to download the PDF interview.

Are you intrigued?  Consider watching our new 5 Choices introductory video on You Tube now. 

Wishing you an extraordinary New Year!

John Vakidis
Associate Client Partner | FranklinCovey
214.387.9960 | john.vakidis@franklincovey.com

Roles

Last week I wrote a blog titled, What is low productivity costing you?  My goal of writing that blog was to get leaders thinking about their workforce and to determine if they are really getting the most out of their teams.  When individuals don’t perform at their highest levels, it actually costs the organization.

This week, I want to write this post for individuals and get them thinking about how they can contribute more in 2012, but not just for work, but in all the other areas of their lives.  So let’s take a moment to think about how we can do that.

So let me ask you a question, “Who are you?”  How did you answer that question?  My guess is that you responded from the context of a role.  You might have said, I am a spouse, a parent, an employee, etc.  In our newest program, The 5 Choices to Extraordinary Productivity, Dean Collinwood, Ph.D., explains…. Even when people give a list of personality traits in response to that question, such as “I am shy,” or, “I am a fun-loving person,” those traits are always acted out in the context of roles.

Defining your roles with meaning is what makes all of the difference!

For example, I can call myself …

A.      a parent -  one that begets or brings forth offspring.

B.      a father - a man who raises a child.

C.      Asher’s Role Model - I will show Asher how to THINK to make good choices.  I will guide him to BE a leader and how to DO relationship.  I will show patience with him through love and guidance.

HOW I define my role will determine the actions I take towards that relationship.  Our society can label us: male or female, black or white, rich or poor, etc., but when we become intentional about  WHO we want to be, we can achieve extraordinary things. 

So, I am going to leave you with a challenge.  Before the new year arrives, take 30 minutes of time to reflect in a quiet environment.  I want you to come up with 4-6 roles you have in your life.  First, I want you to give them standard titles.  For example, I am a father, a husband, a servant leader, an employee, a family member and a friend.  Secondly, I want you to re-define those roles.  For father, I replaced it with Asher’s Role Model.  Once you have done that for each title, take some time to define them from the context of what it would be like to be extraordinary in that role.

If you do this exercise, and establish weekly goals for each of your roles, you can live an amazing life and have enduring relationships.  To wrap it all up, a wise man once told me that life is about choices and relationships.  So, be intentional and live a rich and full life!

To your victory in 2012!

John Vakidis
Associate Client Partner | FranklinCovey
214.387.9960 | john.vakidis@franklincovey.com

What is low productivity costing you?

At FranklinCovey, we’ve been studying individual productivity for over 25 years.  To date, we have sold over $1B in productivity training, so I guess you could say we are an authority on the subject.  We have had over 350,000 people respond to our “Time Matrix” survey.  As of 2011, we have found that the average employee spends about 70% of their time on urgencies and irrelevancies.  That means it’s possible for your employees to only be spending 30% of their time on important priorities.  Take a moment to do the math on what that is actually costing your organization.  With layoffs, cutbacks and a major focus on organizational spending, these statistics should get you thinking. 

Let’s take a look at an example of ABC Organization.  They have 500 employees earning an average of $20/hour.  If everyone gets 2 weeks of vacation a year, that leaves 50 weeks at 40 hours per week, so 2,000 hours of actual work per employee, per year.

In the example above, this means the company is spending $14,000,000 to pay employees to work on urgencies and irrelevancies.  Now you don’t have to be a CFO to understand that this is a problem.  What if you could improve productivity by 10, 20 or 30% or more?  This would have a dramatic effect on your organization's effectiveness and your bottom line!

Giving your employees the right “mindset, skillset and toolset” to become more productive is a worthy investment.  Not only will you see an immediate ROI in your first year of application, but over time, you Create a Culture of Productivity throughout your workforce where everyone is spending more time on important, meaningful work.  This allows for improved sales activities, better time spent on customer service, more time for collaboration between departments, time for creative thinking, planning and more.

To learn more about FranklinCovey’s NEW Productivity Solution, give me a call to set up a meeting with your client partner.  We’ll be happy to help you achieve your top strategic goals in 2012 and beyond!

To your success in the coming year!

John Vakidis
Associate Client Partner | FranklinCovey
214.387.9960 | john.vakidis@franklincovey.com