[Alicia Davis] So we’re curious if you – when you think about building trust on a team – do you consider yourself first, or do you think about other people first? Today, we’re going to talk about how we start with ourselves first. Right, Stacie?
[Stacie Watson] Yes, it’s really interesting. We do a lot of work with teams at TLS, and we love the work that we do with teams. And sometimes we work with teams where it does feel like one of the challenges is that the team members don’t trust each other. And it’s interesting when you go in and begin having conversations with folks, especially if you talk to them individually, a lot of times, I notice, I think you’ve noticed Alicia…
[Alicia Davis] Mmm hmmm…
[Stacie Watson] That the focus is on the other members of the team, what they do, what they don’t do, sort of why they are the problem, You know, when it comes to being trustworthy or accountable, or any of the things that you know, teams focus on. And it’s true there can be problematic members of teams. There’s no question. And it really is interesting, how often folks do focus on others and forget, in some ways, to start with themselves when you think about trust.
[Alicia Davis] It’s so easy to do, right? Like we’re just as human beings, we’re focused outward often, and especially, I think it’s interesting, right, because we primarily work with nonprofit leaders, not exclusively. And, you know, there’s so much that is focused on others in terms of providing care that it’s kind of a reflex, right? And it can really be helpful. You know, we are very inspired by different books and podcasts and things that we read. And this comes from the Speed of Trust book by Stephen M.R. Covey, where trust begins within. And we love the way that he defines trustworthiness, like how can we show up first, be our best selves, and be really doing our best to cultivate trustworthiness. There’s really two aspects of it. Part of it is character, right? Part of it is our values, our intentions, and how we walk our talk. And it’s also about our competence because we can have the best, most magnetic personality in the universe, and it doesn’t matter if we don’t know what we’re doing because people, teams especially, really need and want leaders who can really understand what they are living and dealing with and managing every day. And confidence matters.
[Stacie Watson] Well, it does. Both of these things are so important, and we’ve seen leaders sort of focus on one, almost to the exclusion of others. You know, you can have someone so focused on the bottom line and results, but they’re not necessarily showing up in a way that inspires, that motivates, you know, that really causes the team to want to get behind them or next to them and move forward, you know. And as you said, you can have the reverse: people who are motivational and inspiring and yet don’t necessarily deliver results. And so I think we’re just inviting each person listening, if you’re listening today, to just consider your own sort of trustworthiness and how you show up with your teammates, and we talk about this in our upcoming Leadership Academy session, right?
[Alicia Davis] We do—The Power of Strengthening Team Trust—and it’s coming up on November 12th in our Learning Academy. So you can always check it out at academy.tlstransforms.com or reach out to us at info@tlstransforms.com. And I’m Alicia Davis…
[Stacie Watson] I’m Stacie Watson…
[Alicia Davis] …and thanks so much for listening.
[Stacie Watson] Thank you.
