beBetter 

Growing up in Batesville, MS, I wish I had a dime for every time Mom told Mike and me no fighting in this house. We loved each other and still do, but we constantly fought as youngsters. We are 3.5 years apart and like a typical little brother — he had to do everything I did. This led to lots of conflict and since we shared a bedroom, lots of scuffles in the house. Mom was constantly breaking us up and at times she would spank us for being so disruptive (usually after several warnings). Thank goodness she did not “spare the rod” as we were two hard-headed boys. We quickly learned when we were approaching the point of no return.

Teams and companies can only achieve high performance and move with the necessary speed to succeed today with high levels of trust. Trust really is the oil that keeps the engine from overheating as we floor the accelerator today. The more we understand why and when people give others trust, the better we can build trust in our teams. This includes helping us be vulnerable enough to extend trust first and giving team members the benefit of good intentions.

During a recent conversation, someone said to me, “Just trust me.” My ears perked up immediately because my personal experience has been that “just trust me” individuals have turned out to be some of the most untrustworthy to deal with. I thought about that experience as I was preparing my self-evaluation this week and in my concluding remarks, I thanked our board for the trust they had given me. Their trust is paving the way for our firm to execute on an aggressive strategy for our growth.

On a recent family vacation to Perdido Key, Florida, we had dinner at Fisherman’s Corner—a hole in the wall restaurant that prepares every dish from scratch and has become our family’s favorite when we are in the area. It was hot and we had a large group so I went inside to order drinks for us while we waited. Despite being in the middle of the dinner rush, the waiter smiled at me, handed me the drinks and said, “We use the honor system here, so just simply tell your waiter when you are seated how many drinks you had.” WOW!  I realize they trust me to not take advantage of their hospitality and generosity, but our customer experience (which is always great there) just soared to an even higher level of brand loyalty. It was evident that they cared about our experience AND they trusted us. Loyalty grows when trust is extended. 

This blog is the seventh in the series, My Top 10 Blunders and How You Can Avoid Them.

My grandson, Davis, and I were playing in the pool recently when we started a game that involved standing up on a float. My job was to hold on to the float while he tried to stand up. At first he would lose his balance immediately, because he was worried I was going to let go of my hold on the float. "Pops, I can’t do it," Davis proclaimed. I assured him I would not let go and once I proved it to him through my consistent actions, his confidence went up and he began to master his balance. His worry subsided. 

It reminded me of how important it is for each of us to align with and hold on to our vision, to know our role and to trust each other to give it our best. To accomplish great things, we must take personal risks and rely on others to hold on. High trust creates a low risk environment that allows us to achieve things together that would not otherwise be possible. It provides the foundation for being responsive to the market, the speed to adapt, a sense of belonging, and the desire to do our best.