Stephen Covey defines trust as the interaction of competence and character.
Author Stephen M.R. Covey sees trust as a decisive economic factor. In his book "Speed through Trust", Covey defines trust as the interplay of competence and character. "When we trust someone, we believe in their reliability and their abilities. When we distrust a person, we are suspicious of him. We distrust his integrity, his goals, abilities and achievements", says Covey.
Furthermore, Covey defines five waves of confidence: Self-confidence, relational confidence, organisational confidence, market and social confidence. He points out that these waves influence each other.
The role of self-confidence in leadership
Covey places the wave of self-confidence at the centre of his thoughts. What does this mean for you as a manager?
- Strengthen your own self-confidence. Only then will you be able to trust your employees - even give them the benefit of the doubt.
- Strengthen the self-confidence of your employees. Then it will be easier for them to trust you and others.
How strongly employees feel about themselves, their colleagues and their bosses. trust, it shows also in whether they are ready, Taking responsibility - Responsibility for their own tasks and responsibility for the team's goals and tasks. Employees who have a strong sense of trust are ready, think unconventionally, develop and pursue innovative ideas for solutions. You will act pragmaticallydare, Making mistakes and owning up to them.
Trust culture - the basis for high performance teams
In companies that we accompany in their development, we notice time and again that a lack of trust is the cause of many disagreements, conflicts and friction losses.
But that is not all. Lack of or insufficient trust is barrier number one when it comes to forming a high-performance team from a working group.
And since trust is not static but is constantly exposed to change, is Trust work a continuous process. It is therefore also elementarily important for established teams, that managers should be able to over and over again Put them at the centre of their perception and of the team-internal exchange.
A joint cooking event, celebrating together or an afternoon on the high ropes course can help build trust, but they are not enough. Much more time and space away from the day-to-day business., that every team member can talk to everyone and that this exchange is facilitated by experienced team developers. so is accompaniedThis means that any conflicts that may arise can be resolved immediately or escalations can be contained.
Trust workshop is important - trusting leadership a must
Conducting a trust workshop with the team on a regular basis is elementary. Even more important, is the Trustworthy leadership in everyday life.
What can you do to build and develop trust?
- Be honest and authentic.
- Be reliable.
- Stand by what you say.
- Only demand what you are willing to give yourself.
- Make transparent and comprehensible decisions.
- Admit your own mistakes.
- Take responsibility for your actions.
- Value your employees and their achievements.
- Create enough space for a communicative dialogue.
Good staff appraisals - an instrument of trusting leadership
Managers who regularly take the time to talk to their employees show respect. for the respective individual and thus lay the foundation for a trusting cooperation.
But not all conversations are the same. Good conversations are at eye level, free from interference and benevolent. Good conversations are conducted through open questions and are characterised by attentive listening.
We have dedicated several blog articles to good conversation management. In "Let's talk" is about preparing and conducting staff or annual appraisals. The article "He who asks, leads", deals with leading conversations through questions. In "Actually, you should", it's about softeners. And the article "That's enough" gives concrete advice on how to address conflicts.
In all articles you will find valuable tips for clear, convincing and trustworthy communication.
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