Trust in Government
Insincere Apologies are Trust Killers | Trust in Leadership
I had a chance to sit down with the CEO of Compass Strategic Investments. For six months, he lived and worked in the Netherlands, so he had some cultural observations to share. One of the distinctions that he noticed was that Americans often make insincere apologies. When it comes to building trust, being able to say we’re sorry and doing it sincerely is an important skill. However insincere apologies, those made out of habit or indifference, are trust killers.
Conclusion | Trust Trends 2014 Series
The world is in a trust crisis, and developing the eight-pillar framework of trust is the way out. Top leaders ought to use Trust Trends 2014 as a timely application for developing themselves, their teams, their organizations, and society. The following is a summary of the eight trends, their key embedded opportunities, and the pillar of trust each most corresponds with.
Hyper-Personal & Shared Experience Culture | Trust Trends 2014 Series
Increasingly, Americans desire to be entertained, fulfilled, and transformed, and they want to share these experiences with their friends.
Americans are stressed-out, staying obese, and becoming more self-focused and unhealthy. They are often distrusting critics, especially younger anti-institutional generations who have been influenced by scandals in hierarchies, and this makes them increasingly informal. As consumers, they are demanding and difficult to please. They trade their money and options for what they want, when they want, and how they want. Increasingly, they desire to be entertained and fulfilled, and they want to share experiences with friends. In 2014, American consumers desire hyper-personal products, services, experiences, shared experiences and transformations.
Systems Collaboration and Interdependence | Trust Trends 2014 Series
In the US, and around the globe, systems are becoming more interdependent, and leaders are teaming up to accomplish shared goals.
In the US, and around the globe, systems are becoming more interdependent, and leaders are teaming up to accomplish shared goals. This is happening at a time when global citizens trust systems, but distrust the leaders that operate them. Trust in business, government, media, and NGO’s are up slightly from 2012, but 2013 has been deemed the year of the Crisis of Leadership, by the Edelman Trust Barometer.[i]
The Greatest Example of Trust Rebuilt! | Trust in Leadership
Perhaps the greatest example of trust being rebuilt globally is Rwanda. Only two decades after the genocide of 1994, when nearly a million Tutsi’s were atrociously killed, often by Hutu neighbors, trust is being rebuilt in a genuine way. Just a boy at the time, my Rwandan friend, Father Remy, hid in a neighbor’s shed for three months with his younger brother while his mother, father and little sister were beaten to death in their home. This morning, before flying back home, Father Remy shared the details of Rwanda’s path to forgiveness, reconciliation and trust with my family over a long breakfast. He offered four steps and a few keys to reconciliation and trust.
Volatile & Vulnerable Global Context | Trust Trends 2014 Series
The three-speed global economy is volatile, and a deficiency of trusted leadership makes the entire world vulnerable.
The global context is marked by volatility and vulnerability. The global population is rising quickly, resources are growing scarce, new technology is causing constant disruption, employment rates are on the downswing, and tensions remain. The three-speed global economy is volatile, and it’s not a good time for a crisis of leadership. A deficiency of trusted leadership makes the entire world vulnerable.
Answer to the Trust Crisis | Trust Trends 2014 Series
In 2014, eight key global trends reveal that the world is in a trust crisis, and developing the eight-pillar framework of The Trust Edge is the way out. From the Cyprus bank fiasco and Edward Snowden’s leaks to the Syria chemical weapons attack and horsemeat scandals, stories of distrust are overflowing from the news. These trust breaches are combining with trends of rapid change to leave the world in a volatile state. Worse yet, leaders are leaving our world vulnerable.
10 Step Process for Instituting Trusted Change | Trust in Leadership
One of the most important roles of leadership involves instituting change that sticks. It’s no easy process, and it will always look unique to the situation, but here’s a simple 10 step model we use each time. Note the pillars from the 8 pillar framework of trust that are most important in each step.
Set High Ethical Standards | Building Trust with Gen Y Series
Set and expect high ethical standards. (8 of 9 in series)
The 2013 Edelman Trust Barometer found that only 17.5% of people around the globe trust their business and government leaders. The sad truth is that Gen Y expects ethical mishaps from many of their leaders and they’re probably personally influenced by grimy college experiences and superficial reality television shows. There is great opportunity for improvement, and Gen Y wants it.
