Trust Across America-Trust Around the World™

 

Trust is the lubrication that makes it possible for organizations to work.

 —Warren Bennis

In 2013 Trust Across America-Trust Around the World (TAA-TAW) formed a Trust Alliance that has grown to several hundred global professionals from for-profit and not for-profit organizations of all sizes, as well as leaders from media, government and sports; academics and researchers; leadership, organizational development and culture change to compliance, ethics and trust professionals, consultants and speakers.

We recently asked our members to comment on what the Alliance represents to them and how they benefit from membership:

(The Trust Alliance) is…a collection of like-minded professionals advocating for the importance of, and need for, developing higher levels of trustworthy behavior in leaders and organizations around the world. I belong to the Alliance for two main reasons. One – it allows me to be part of something bigger than myself. It’s a badge of honor, so to speak, to say that I stand along dozens of other professionals who share the same ideals about the importance of trust. We are standard-bearers of what trust could/should look like in personal and organizational relationships. Second – it’s a good network for me to access…

Another member and  former public company CEO summed it up best:

We are a group of leaders who believe that many of our organizational and leadership challenges can be addressed by showing others that building trust is a huge game changer for people and organizations.

And finally….

(The Trust Alliance) has unequivocally deepened and enlivened our company mission, administration, and operations.

TAA-TAW is proud of the work our members are doing and the resources we are creating, both individually and collectively. But perhaps most importantly, we are changing the way organizations think about trust. It’s not a soft skill, but rather a hard asset that when implemented as a business strategy, brings out the best in both leaders and their organizations.

To explore more about the benefits of becoming a member, please click here.

Barbara Brooks Kimmel is the CEO & Cofounder of Trust Across America-Trust Around the World whose mission is to help organizations build trust. She facilitates the world’s largest membership program for those interested in the subject. Barbara also serves as editor of the award winning TRUST INC. book series and the Executive Editor of TRUST! Magazine. In 2012 Barbara was named “One of 25 Women Changing the World” by Good Business International.

Have you seen our 2016 Trust Poster? It’s changing the way organizations do business.

Copyright 2016, Next Decade, Inc.

 

Yesterday, at a small holiday gathering someone asked simply, “Does anyone care about Trust Across America-Trust Around the World’s programs?” This year-end post is being written in response to that question.

Trust Across America? Who cares?

Our friends care: We have built a holistic multifunctional circle of friends who have individually (and at times collectively) helped steer us in our mission to build organizational trust.

Our Alliance cares: Now entering it’s 4th year our Trust Alliance has worked collaboratively to publish three award-winning books in our Trust Inc. series, five issues of TRUST! Magazine (the most recent issue being downloaded almost 30,000 times) three annual “Trust Ideas” posters and a host of organizational trust tools, of which virtually none existed before the alliance formed.

Our Top Thought Leaders care: Now in its 6th year Trust Across America’s annual honor is bestowed on the Trust Across America Top Thought Leaders whose daily work helps elevate organizational trust and ethics and who hold this award in high regard on both their websites and in their biographies.

Our Most Trustworthy Public Companies care: Now in its 5th year, this annual honor is given to the “Top 10” Most Trustworthy Public Companies in the US. Many of these companies use this award to recruit new talent and in their marketing and communications messages. Unlike other “Top” awards, companies do not know they are being judged, nor do they participate in the review process.

Researchers care: We maintain the largest living bibliography of trust research (free) thanks to the generosity of one of our friends and colleagues. It’s accessed constantly and updated as researchers contribute new material.

The Media cares: Our press coverage continues to expand.

Our Website Visitors care: Organizations very much care about the subject of organizational trust. Occasionally we audit visitors to the site according to our web stats. Here’s who stops by: repeated visits from Fortune 500 and other multinational companies; federal and state government agencies, both domestic and foreign; universities and colleges around the world; and we’ve even seen some visits from the White House!

Since January 2013, 742,000 visitors have accessed 2,276,000 pages of material. We think that’s quite a bit of caring!!

Cheers to you Bob for challenging me to write this year-end post. And thank you to ALL our friends, Alliance members, Top Thought Leaders, Trustworthy Public Companies, Researchers, Media, website Visitors and Blog Post Readers who care. Without you, there would be a whole lot less trust in the world.

Here’s to more caring in 2016!

Barbara Brooks Kimmel, CEO and Cofounder Trust Across America-Trust Around the World

PS- Drop me a note at barbara@trustacrossamerica.com and let me know you care!

 

 

Back by popular demand, our 2016 third annual trust poster provides…

52 Ideas That YOU (as a leader) Can Implement to Build Trust

 

Today I’ve randomly selected thirteen of the 52 ideas from our global community of trust and leadership experts to share as you plan your strategies for 2016.

1. When it comes to building trust, leaders go first. Jim Kouzes & Barry Posner
2. Build cultures of commitment vs. compliance where choices are guided by values not policies. Mark Fernandes
3. Work tirelessly to dispel the illusion that trust is a “soft” skill. Doug Conant
4. Agree on a set of core values, practice and reinforce them daily. Barbara Brooks Kimmel
5. Be very good at what you do. Competence is a litmus test for believability. Nan Russell
6. The first job of a leader is to inspire trust; the second job is to extend trust. Stephen M.R. Covey
7. Encourage risk-taking and celebrate “good failures” as opportunities to learn and move forward. Bill George
8. In earning the trust of others, being clear on what you want for others, is more important than what you want from David Penglase
9. Be a role model. Charlie Green
10. Set intentional promises and expectations on what you will deliver to all stakeholders. David Reiling
11. Go public when expressing gratitude; go private when expressing disappointment. Holly Latty-Mann
12. Listen with the intent to be influenced. Randy Conley
13. Kindness amid conflict; Respect across diversity. Davia Temin

Our poster not only makes a great “gift of trust” for the holidays but provides many of the keys to reversing the cycle of organizational mistrust. Do your part by joining our movement today!

Read more about the 2016 poster at this link.

Barbara Brooks Kimmel is the CEO & Cofounder of Trust Across America-Trust Around the World whose mission is to help responsible organizations build trust. She facilitates the world’s largest membership program for those interested in the subject. Barbara also servers as editor of the award winning TRUST INC. book series and the Executive Editor of TRUST! Magazine. In 2012 Barbara was named “One of 25 Women Changing the World” by Good Business International.

Copyright 2015, Next Decade, Inc.

 

A spate of corporate crises in 2015 have only served to fuel the long-term fire of low organizational trust. Under the theory that trust starts at the top and trickles down, we asked our Alliance Members and Top Thought Leaders how Boards of Directors can be the catalyst to drive organizational trust in the right direction in 2016.

Our readers will find twelve suggestions below:

 

Boards must replace fear with trust:

A trust-based culture increases morale, productivity, innovation, speed, agility, pride in the workplace, value to the customer and sustained high performance.

Edward Marshall, The Marshall Group

 

Boards must widen the scope of their membership:

Diverse boards bring different and new types of expertise and perspectives, increasing the range of topics discussed, and most important, encouraging open, candid and provocative discussions.

Nadine Hack, beCause Global Consulting

 

Boards and CEOs must be proactive:

Boards can and should lead certain functions for the firm from defining the desired culture to involvement in strategy development. They should not be passive monitors.

Bob Vanourek, Triple Crown Leadership

 

Board members must have authentic conversations:

They must be provided with sufficient information; a safe space that protects privacy and rejects behaviors to intimidate, ridicule or insult; and enough time to explore systemic issues without jumping to conclusions.

Alain Bolea, Business Advisors Network

 

Boards must avoid entrenching polarized attitudes:

Boards must have synergy. Look for warning signs in communications including “we versus they” or “if only we can get them to do this.”

Bob Whipple, Leadergrow

 

Board members must ask the tough (ethical) questions…and act on the answers:

Tie compensation and bonuses to ethical leadership metrics as well as financial performance.

Donna C. Boehme, Compliance Strategists

 

Boards must demand management accountability:

Mission, purpose, values, culture, strategy, business model and brand must be thoughtfully defined, activated and aligned to create a coherent whole.

Roger Bolton, Arthur Page Society

 

Boards must align their business agenda with societal expectations:

Board members must have an unmistakable sensitivity to the societal issues of the day. Capabilities must be aligned to build a better world AND a better company.

Doug Conant, Conant Leadership

 

Boards must speak with candor:

The canned, compliance-approved double-talk and corporate window dressing must be replaced. It is, at best, a short-term unsustainable business strategy, and hiding behind philanthropic efforts simply doesn’t work. Boards must build cultures of authentic long-term trust, practice it holistically, and regularly communicate it to all stakeholders.

Barbara Brooks Kimmel, Trust Across America

 

Boards must kill the evening before dinner:

Instead take a small group of front-line or mid-level employees to dinner in an informal setting without the presence of other corporate executives.

Robert Galford, Center for Leading Organizations

 

Board must understand their organization’s relationship with their stakeholders:

Take surveys, monitor social and legacy media, and share information across the organization; track the emotions of issues, events and topics, follow changes in the environment; engage and address concerns.

Linda Locke, Standing Partnership

 

Boards must develop their own crisis plan:

Enumerate what kinds of actions will be taken for different issues, their crisis strategy and who will be designated to play “first string.”

Davia Temin, Temin and Company

 

What would you add to these recommendations? Drop me a note at barbara@trustacrossamerica.com

Dozens more suggestions like this can be found in Trust, Inc: A Guide for Boards and C-Suites and in our brand new 2016 annual poster Weekly Ideas That You Can Implement to Build Trust

 

 

 

Imagine visiting a shoe store and failing to provide the salesperson with information on your shoe size, color or the style you are seeking yet expecting to leave with the shoes that meet your needs.

Rarely a day passes without a note or a call asking some variation of the following question:

Do you have a questionnaire or a tool, to detect the level of trust in an organization?

And every time, I respond with “What are you trying to measure or detect?”

Trust is not a “one size fits all” proposition. These are just a few of the variations, and each has it’s own tool and/or assessment mechanism:

• Self-trust
• Internal trust including trust among team members, between teams, and trust between leaders and employees.
• External trust between the organization and its stakeholders including suppliers, vendors and customers.
• Organizational trust or its trust “worthiness” both internally and externally.

In most organizations trust is taken for granted perhaps because of the simple belief that “one size DOES fit all.” I hope you enjoy your shoes and that they meet your needs!

Barbara Brooks Kimmel is the CEO & Cofounder of Trust Across America-Trust Around the World whose mission is to help organizations build trust. She facilitates the world’s largest membership program for those interested in the subject. Barbara also servers as Editor of the award winning TRUST INC. book series and the Executive Editor of TRUST! Magazine. In 2012 Barbara was named “One of 25 Women Changing the World” by Good Business International.

Copyright 2015, Next Decade, Inc.

 

I love receiving unsolicited emails from folks thinking deeply about trust. Yesterday David Heath shared the following and I am excited to pass David’s thoughts along to you.

The Ten Laws of Trust: In much the same way that the Boy Scouts movement maintains ten laws that guide the behaviour of every member, so too might we describe ten laws of Trust. These laws should guide everyone in the pursuit and enjoyment of Trust.

• Trust is congruent. It starts from within. It starts with the simple statement, “I will be trustworthy.” And from there, the desire, nay the imperative, to achieve trustworthiness.
• Trust is reciprocal. If I am Trustworthy, it is reasonable to expect people to trust me in return. Maybe I will get burned, but without the spark of trust, there is nothing.
• Trust is consistent. In any relationship, there is an expectation that people will behave in the same manner as they have done previously. The con-man continues to con, the trusted remains trustworthy.
• Trust is inflationary. In any positive relationship, simply our continued presence will increase the level of trust.
• I will be constructive in my Trust. In any positive relationship, I will actively do things to increase the level of trust; in a negative relationship, I will seek to identify and remove the barriers to trust.
• Trust is expansive. As Trust grows, I will expect more and more positive outcomes from the relationship.
• Trust is individual and unique. A Trust relationship does not require me to agree with everything you say or do. It does however permit me to set our differences aside in the pursuit of common goals.
• Trust is remedial. Whenever mutual Trust is damaged, and it will happen, I will actively seek to repair the relationship.
• Trust is respectful. I understand that others may choose to not Trust me – that is their choice. I will respect their decision and continue to be as trustworthy as I can possibly be towards that person.
• Trust is discriminating. Trust and respect are two quite different things and I will not confuse the two. I will however work hard to align them as closely as I possibly can.

Thank you David for this creative and original perspective on trust. What do you think about David’s “Ten Laws?” Do you have other thoughts about organizational trust? Send them along to barbara@trustacrossamerica.com

David Heath is a New Zealand-born Australian resident who initially pursued Geology and ended up with a Computer Science degree.  These days, David writes for a living – predominantly as an Instructional Designer for a major industrial control vendor where as well as writing multi-hundred page technical training manuals, he also delivers a variety of  in-company courses including a “Train the Trainer” course.  In addition David is Security Editor for an on-line IT news site.

Being an INTJ, David cannot possibly be restricted to a single area of interest and as part of his exploration into improved communication came across the works of Charles Green and Barbara Kimmel in the field of ‘Trust..’  He continues to pose the question, “what makes us trust the trainer?”

 

In the wake of the ongoing Volkswagen trust debacle and lot’s of “hot potato” blame games, our November Trust Quest asks:

Who’s Responsible?

What are your thoughts? Will you take 60 seconds to weigh in?

In the words of Richard Branson…

“The most valuable business commodity is trust.
There is simply no point in talking about trust if it is not followed by action.”

Nominations are now open for our 6th annual Trust Across America-Trust Around the World Top Thought Leaders.

Barbara Brooks Kimmel is the CEO & Cofounder of Trust Across America-Trust Around the World whose mission is to help organizations identify their core values to build trust. She facilitates the world’s largest membership program for those interested in the subject. Barbara also servers as editor of the award winning TRUST INC. book series and the Executive Editor of TRUST! Magazine. In 2012 Barbara was named “One of 25 Women Changing the World” by Good Business International.

Copyright 2015, Next Decade, Inc.

 

 

Who would you nominate as a Top Thought Leader for 2016?

For the 6th year, the search has again begun! Trust Across America-Trust Around the World seeks to identify global Top Thought Leaders to join our roster of past honorees and our Lifetime Achievement Award Winners including Patricia Aburdene, Bill George, Jim Kouzes and Jeffrey Seglin.

It’s hard to remain optimistic about organizational trust.  Global scandals abound in business, sports, media, academia and politics, to name just a few. And organizations like Edelman and Gallup continue to report on declines in trust across all major organizational groups.  But as we’ve said for years, industry is not destiny.

Since 2010 Trust Across America-Trust Around the World has sought to identify thought leaders whose professional work encourages the “right” core values in organizations, supporting and fostering a climate of trust. We celebrate professionals from a variety of disciplines including leadership, teamwork, collaboration, values, culture, ethics, governance, compliance, corporate responsibility, etc., who are transforming the way organizations do business, and who also “walk their talk.”

Many of our past honorees are well-known CEOs, authors and leadership advisors, while others are quietly working behind the scenes as teachers and researchers. We acknowledge and reward all their efforts in elevating societal trust and look forward to reviewing this year’s pool of nominees.

Who would you nominate as a Trust Across America-Trust Around the World 2016 Top Thought Leader?

Please feel free to share this link , read our 2015 press release, or send us a note with comments and suggestions. Email to:  barbara@trustacrossamerica.com

Barbara Brooks Kimmel is the CEO & Cofounder of Trust Across America-Trust Around the World whose mission is to help organizations identify their core values to build trust. She facilitates the world’s largest membership program for those interested in the subject. Barbara also servers as editor of the award winning TRUST INC. book series and the Executive Editor of TRUST! Magazine. In 2012 Barbara was named “One of 25 Women Changing the World” by Good Business International.

Copyright 2015, Next Decade, Inc.

 

 

 

 

In the wake of the growing Volkswagen scandal, our October Trust Quest asks:

Do you think Organizations should have a Trust Function such as Legal or Compliance?

What are your thoughts? Will you take 60 seconds to weigh in?

bit.ly/1L6m6cA

In the words of Richard Branson…

“The most valuable business commodity is trust.
There is simply no point in talking about trust if it is not followed by action.”

 

Nominations are now open for our 6th annual Trust Across America-Trust Around the World Top Thought Leaders.

Barbara Brooks Kimmel is the CEO & Cofounder of Trust Across America-Trust Around the World whose mission is to help organizations identify their core values to build trust. She facilitates the world’s largest membership program for those interested in the subject. Barbara also servers as editor of the award winning TRUST INC. book series and the Executive Editor of TRUST! Magazine. In 2012 Barbara was named “One of 25 Women Changing the World” by Good Business International.

 

 

 

Copyright 2015, Next Decade, Inc.

 

 

 

It’s been a bad week for Volkswagen and the “trust” and leadership bloggers are having a field day. But two questions remain unanswered.

• Did Volkswagen betray trust?
• Did the “right” heads roll as a result?

“No” to both. In order for a betrayal to occur, trust must have first been present, and in this case the CEO is simply the fall guy in a large intentional coverup.

Volkswagen could not betray something that never existed: Let’s not forget that the auto industry is one of historical low trust dominated by regulators, the enemy of trust. Have we forgotten about Takata, General Motors and Fiat/Chrysler? Volkswagen is not even the first company to rig emissions.

The new CEO is merely another pawn: Who is naive enough to believe that Volkswagen’s new CEO can “rebuild” trust? Who suggested that rebuilding trust be his message? Was it his legal team or the PR department?  This should simply not be the corporate message, nor is it the responsibility of the CEO. Rather, the construction of trust sits squarely on the shoulders of the company’s Board of Directors, one that has historically thumbed its nose at trust. Like many companies, Volkswagen’s board composition is far from ideal, and its claimed core values, have been nothing more than empty words. The company simply failed to walk its talk, and instead of the Board, the CEO took the fall.

Core values that incorporate trust as a business imperative and are practiced daily give companies a competitive advantage, but in today’s society they are rarely more than a sign on the wall at corporate headquarters.  And that’s why we continue to drift from one corporate scandal to the next, with no end in sight. Will Volkswagen’s board of directors address its lack of practiced core values? Will they take the blame for this latest scandal? These are the questions bloggers and the public should be asking. Based on the Board’s actions over the past several days, I highly doubt they will do either.

What’s my long-term prediction for Volkswagen? Like others before them, the new CEO will be instructed to talk about rebuilding trust, the company will pay their fines, and it will be “business as usual” until the next crisis. Too bad for you, me and every other stakeholder.

Barbara Brooks Kimmel is the CEO & Cofounder of Trust Across America-Trust Around the World whose mission is to help organizations build trust. She facilitates the world’s largest membership program for those interested in the subject. Barbara also servers as editor of the award winning TRUST INC. book series and the Executive Editor of TRUST! Magazine. In 2012 Barbara was named “One of 25 Women Changing the World” by Good Business International.

Our annual poster, 52 Weeks of Activities to Increase Organizational Trust is available to those who would like to support our work by making a small donation.

Did you know we have published 3 books in our award-winning TRUST Inc. series. They are yours when you join our Alliance.

Help us continue our work in organizational trust by purchasing our award-winning books

at this link.

Copyright 2015, Next Decade, Inc.