Trust Across America-Trust Around the World™

From  November 17-24, concerned citizens from around the globe will be joining Trust Across America-Trust Around the World in its first annual TRUSTGiving social awareness campaign. If you strongly believe that trust is an important component of all personal and professional relationships, we invite you to join us by using this emblem, placing the dates on your calendar and sharing this note with others.

More information is available on our website at this link.

We will be using this hashtag during the week.

#TrustGiving2014

Barbara Brooks Kimmel is the Executive Director of Trust Across America-Trust Around the World whose mission is to help organizations build trust. She is also the 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.

Nominations are now being accepted for Trust Across America-Trust Around the World’s 5th annual Global Top Thought Leaders in Trustworthy Business.

Should you wish to communicate directly with Barbara, drop her a note at Barbara@trustacrossamerica.com Copyright © 2014, Next Decade, Inc.

Lay a strong foundation of trust or make a costly fix in the future. You decide.  Barbara Brooks Kimmel

Over time, homes built on weak foundations develop structural issues- cracked walls, crooked floors, leaky roofs. Organizations are no different.

Yesterday I was speaking with someone who holds a senior position in a startup company. I asked him whether trust is being built into the DNA. After he rolled his eyes, he said “the “team” was too busy for that.” I cautioned that the road ahead could be very bumpy and inefficient, and that long-term success was questionable. Then I turned my back and rolled my eyes!

Building trust into the business strategy at the startup stage increases efficiency (more timely, less costly) and is so much easier and less expensive than making the repairs later on.

These are three steps startups can take to build a foundation of trust. We call this our VIP Model (Values, Integrity, Promises Kept).

Vision & Values: Leaders must collaboratively identify what the organization wants to achieve. Why does it exist and what does it stand for? Bring the team together to write a statement of values or a corporate credo. Discuss it weekly. Modify as required. Don’t know where to start? Here’s a sample. We can direct you to other resources as well.

Integrity: Model openness and vulnerability; use transparent decision making; listen carefully; ask for input; don’t bite off more than you can chew; don’t exaggerate or make false claims; communicate and then communicate again.

Promises: What are the goals and intentions for each of your stakeholder groups? What promises can you make and what steps do you need to take to fulfill them? Do not make promises you can’t keep.

Don’t wait to build trust into your organization’s DNA. The stronger the foundation, the lower the likelihood of cracked walls in the future.

Barbara Brooks Kimmel is the Executive Director of Trust Across America-Trust Around the World whose mission is to help organizations build trust. She is also the 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.

Nominations are now being accepted for Trust Across America-Trust Around the World’s 5th annual Global Top Thought Leaders in Trustworthy Business.

Have you seen our brand new magazine TRUST!

Copyright © 2014, Next Decade, Inc.

Followers who tell the truth, and leaders who listen to it, are an unbeatable combination  — Warren Bennis

Last week Jack Haren, the President and CFO of Mohawk Fine Papers, Inc. delivered a short speech at the CFO of the Year Luncheon in Troy, NY. Mohawk is North America’s largest privately owned (4th generation) manufacturer of fine papers, envelopes and specialty substrates for commercial and digital printing. Jack chose the subject of trust and was kind enough to allow me to reprint his speech.

I have selected the question: What advice would you give someone going into leadership position for the first time? 

Putting aside the obvious ingredients of diligence and hard work, the INSIGHT that I would share is that long term career success is powered by the ability to generate TRUST.

Merriam- Webster dictionary defines trust as the assured reliance on the character, ability and strength of someone or something.

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As a mentor, I would remind them that Trust cannot be purchased. It doesn’t come with a college degree, your family name or your zip code.

It can only be earned.

It comes forth from the values you exhibit…the way you interact with peers, subordinates and superiors.    

It comes when you demonstrate that the MEANS that you employ to accomplish an end have as much to say about your success as the final result.

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I would remind them that Trust is fueled by consistency, fairness and openness.

It is strengthened by adversity.

It is built up over a series of experiences, a series of projects, a period of years.

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Finally, it is a quality that will draw others to you.  It is an essential of  leadership.

BUT a caution…it is very fragile… so handle it with great care.

Thank you Jack. Your commitment to trust is reflected in the ongoing success of your company.

Barbara Brooks Kimmel is the Executive Director of Trust Across America-Trust Around the World whose mission is to help organizations build trust. She is also the editor of the award winning TRUST INC. book series. In 2012 Barbara was named “One of 25 Women Changing the World” by Good Business International.

Nominations are now being accepted for Trust Across America-Trust Around the World’s 5th annual Global Top Thought Leaders in Trustworthy Business.

                                                                                               Coming Soon!

Should you wish to communicate directly with Barbara, drop her a note at Barbara@trustacrossamerica.com

Copyright © 2014, Next Decade, Inc.

I don’t care what you think unless it is about me. Kurt Cobain  

The baggage we carry over from childhood impacts the odds of being trustworthy team members or leaders as adults.

Who can recall the elementary school classmates who insisted on being:

• First in line
• First to raise their hand (that was me)
• First at bat
• First piece of cake
• First to be picked for the team
• Last to share

Baby Boomers, those of us born between 1946 and 1964 are known as the “Me” generation, narcissism being our most prominent feature.

Many of us have carried our “Me first” perspective into adulthood, but unfortunately, this narcissistic, ego-driven attitude does not go very far in building trust. In fact, according to this study, narcissistic CEO’s do not make good leaders.

As I’ve said in previous blog posts, what many are calling a “crisis of trust,” I see as a crisis of leadership. If organizational trust is the goal, the “We first” leader must assume the helm from his “Me first” colleague.

Barbara Brooks Kimmel is the Executive Director of Trust Across America-Trust Around the World whose mission is to help organizations build trust. She is also the editor of the award winning TRUST INC. book series. In 2012 Barbara was named “One of 25 Women Changing the World” by Good Business International.

Nominations are now being accepted for Trust Across America-Trust Around the World’s 5th annual Global Top Thought Leaders in Trustworthy Business.

                                                                                               Coming Soon!

Should you wish to communicate directly with Barbara, drop her a note at Barbara@trustacrossamerica.com

Copyright © 2014, Next Decade, Inc.

Many people are good at talking about what they are doing, but in fact do little. Others do a lot but don’t talk about it; they are the ones who make a community live.  Jean Vanier, Community And Growth

The Pittsburgh police chief and mayor are vowing to regain community trust. You can read more about the low level of trust in Pittsburgh at this link. It’s a messy story with a long history, but hardly a unique scenario. In addition to police brutality, the former police chief was sentenced to prison on corruption charges. So it seems, there is quite a bit of work to be done to build trust in this community.

In September I wrote a popular piece called Trust, it Can’t be Restored if it Never Existed

Regardless of the nature of the organization, be it a community or a corporation, trust is built over time and in incremental steps. Just like a piece of furniture, it can be built, but it can’t be restored if it never existed, and it all begins with trustworthy leadership.

How many community leaders place trust at the top of the agenda?

Last year Trust Across America-Trust Around the World compiled a free report called Building Trust in Community Leadership. It aggregates the expertise of many thought leaders and provides a trust framework and actionable steps for all community leaders who choose to embrace trust as a business imperative. Why should community leaders want to do this?

Communities that build trust reap these benefits and many more:

• Faster and smoother-functioning governance
• Collaboration across entities, driving speed, efficiency and innovation
• Greater community awareness, involvement and support of local initiatives
• Increased employee responsibility and competence and improved morale
• Increased levels of trust in (local) government
• Sets an example for community youth
• Win/win situations

Communities exhibiting low levels of trust face the following risks and many more:

• Low levels of employee energy and commitment and high levels of stress
• High/costly employee turnover
• Low levels of innovation and change
• High levels of suspicion among community interest groups
• High barriers to communication with no open and honest sharing of information
• Poor and slow decision making
• Win/lose situations

In Pittsburgh, the Mayor and the Police Chief must commit to leading with trust both independently and as a team.

The Mayor Must Commit to Integrity First:

Public confidence in the integrity of elected officials is the cornerstone of our democratic representative system of governance.  As the highest-ranking elected official of its municipal town or city, the Office of the Mayor is charged with the trust, wellbeing, security, and prosperity of its citizens and community.  The Office of the Mayor should perform its responsibilities with the highest sense of ethical leadership, integrity and competence.  Each Mayor’s Office should develop, implement and monitor a set of Guiding Principles of Integrity that is tailored to its unique mandate and responsibilities. (Donna Boehme)

The Police Chief Must Commit to Core Leadership Values:

An exemplary policing organization engenders in all employees commitment to the core ethical values embodied in trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, caring, fairness and good citizenship. It encourages and expects all employees to demonstrate moral courage to do what is right even when it is personally costly or subjects the organization to criticism or liability. (Michael Josephson)

Let’s hope that the Pittsburgh community is on the right track in building trust. It behooves all stakeholders to keep in mind that trust-building takes time and happens in incremental steps. Perhaps most important, it must encompass more than “just talk.”

Barbara Brooks Kimmel is the Executive Director of Trust Across America-Trust Around the World whose mission is to help organizations build trust. She is also the editor of the award winning TRUST INC. book series. In 2012 Barbara was named “One of 25 Women Changing the World” by Good Business International.

Nominations are now being accepted for Trust Across America-Trust Around the World’s 5th annual Global Top Thought Leaders in Trustworthy Business.

                                                                                               Coming Soon!

Should you wish to communicate directly with Barbara, drop her a note at Barbara@trustacrossamerica.com

Copyright © 2014, Next Decade, Inc.

The ethical person should do more than he is required to do and less than he is allowed to do.  Michael Josephson

In a blog post last week I asked the question, “Where Does CSR End & Moral Responsibility Begin?” Several folks weighed in on the role of the corporation in society. The consensus was that genuine CSR is more than just a program. It is a way of doing business that embraces moral responsibility.

Today, I’d like to ask another tough question. “Where Does Compliance End & Trust and Ethics Begin?”

Doug Cornelius over at Compliance Building used the recent NFL crisis to answer the question above in this excellent article.

The answer is rather “black and white” yet in speaking about trust with corporate executives, I often hear this statement. “We are not breaking any laws, therefore we are trustworthy.”

Here’s the most simple way to differentiate compliance and trust. Compliance is mandatory while trust is voluntary. Compliance sets minimum acceptable standards while trust and ethics are what differentiate an organization from its competitors.

While it’s true that trust can’t be regulated, merely be “compliant” will not place an organization at the front of the pack. The legal team cannot assist leadership in building trust, only in staying on the “right” side of the law. An organizational trust imperative first requires an acceptance that compliance is not enough, that trust and ethics must be embraced as a business imperative. The rest is easy.

Barbara Brooks Kimmel is the Executive Director of Trust Across America-Trust Around the World whose mission is to help organizations build trust. She is also the editor of the award winning TRUST INC. book series. In 2012 Barbara was named “One of 25 Women Changing the World” by Good Business International.

Nominations are now being accepted for Trust Across America-Trust Around the World’s 5th annual Global Top Thought Leaders in Trustworthy Business.

                                                                                               Coming Soon!

Should you wish to communicate directly with Barbara, drop her a note at Barbara@trustacrossamerica.com

Copyright © 2014, Next Decade, Inc.

Cultivate trust by deepening the conversation. Patricia Aburdene

(from Trust Across America’s Weekly Reflections on Trust 2014)

Today we start a new blog feature called Organizational Trust this Week, beginning with the “Good” and ending with the “Ugly.” Each story contains a trust component and at least one lesson for organizations seeking to make trust a business imperative.

THE GOOD

Silos kill trust: Mary Barra is Breaking Down Silos to Build Trust at GM

Corporate DNA should not change when the CEO leaves: Pimco’s new CEO Doug Hodge will Remain True to the Corporate DNA 

Corporate transformations take time: Marissa Mayer remains passionate and focused on corporate transformation at Yahoo

Great leaders say these things to their employees: John Brandon discusses 17 things great leaders should say

How much influence should CEO’s have on their Boards? Interesting research from George Mason University’s Derek Horstmeyer Beyond Independence, CEO Influence and the Internal Operations of the Board

THE BAD

Trust is busted when fines are nothing more than a slap on the wrist: AT&T pays $105 million fine and gets to keep the rest

The big pharma industry is an ongoing trust disaster: Why exactly are prescription drugs so expensive? 

What to do when the CEO has an affair? Nothing. It doesn’t violate the company’s ethics and integrity policies!

Here’s what the same CEO has to say about company ethics.

THE UGLY

When it comes to violations of trust, it doesn’t get much worse than the unfolding scandal at Sayreville High School in NJ: Governor Chris Christie makes a statement. But the best part is what a former NFL trainer had to say. Read the full article.

OUR MOST POPULAR POST THIS WEEK

And finally, Trust Across America-Trust Around the World’s Most Popular Post on LinkedIn Pulse this week

Send us your stories for consideration in future editions of Organizational Trust this Week. Barbara@trustacrossamerica.com

Barbara Brooks Kimmel is the Executive Director of Trust Across America-Trust Around the World whose mission is to help organizations build trust. She is also the editor of the award winning TRUST INC. book series. In 2012 Barbara was named “One of 25 Women Changing the World” by Good Business International.

Nominations are now being accepted for Trust Across America-Trust Around the World’s 5th annual Global Top Thought Leaders in Trustworthy Business.

                                                                                               Coming Soon!

Should you wish to communicate directly with Barbara, drop her a note at Barbara@trustacrossamerica.com

Copyright © 2014, Next Decade, Inc.

Successful leadership is not about being tough or soft, sensitive or assertive, but about a set of attributes. First and foremost is character. — Warren Bennis

Ask any group of people whom they trust and the two most common answers will be “parents” and “siblings.” Ask them why and they will talk about longevity, familiarity and shared experiences. Rarely will the answer to the first question be a coworker or a boss.

What makes families unique? Each has its own culture. But if the family culture is corrupt, so are the offspring. The same applies to organizations, regardless of their size, industry or composition.

Someone recently asked me if there were any “quick fixes” for low-trust organizations. My answer was simply “Diseases can’t be cured with Band Aids.” Trust takes time and it is built in incremental steps.

If you lead an organization and want to build trust into its DNA, it all begins (and ends) with you.

Start with an assessment of yourself:

• Are you trustworthy?
• Do you have integrity, character and values?
• Do you share those values with your family?
• Do you instill them in your children?
• Do you take your personal values to work?

Perform an organizational trust audit:

• Have you built trust into your organizational culture with the support of your Board?
• Is it reflected in your statement of values and credo?
• How do you practice it?
• How well do you communicate it?
• Can it outlive you?

Consider your internal stakeholders:

• Do you discuss trust daily?
• Do you encourage feedback?
• Do you share a consistent vision?
• Do you model openness and vulnerability?
• Do you use transparent decision-making?
• Do you ask for input?
• Do you have long-term trust-building goals and execute them well, one by one?
• Do you share every “Wow” moment in your organization?
• Do you communicate, communicate, communicate?

Consider your external stakeholders:

• Have you shared your vision and values in building a trustworthy organization?
• Have you identified the outcome(s) you are seeking?
• Have you defined your intentions for each of our stakeholder groups?
• Have you made promises that you will keep?
• Have you determined the steps you will take to fulfill these promises?

Remember, the fish rots from the head. Every problem in an organization, including low trust, can be traced back to its leadership.

Barbara Brooks Kimmel is the Executive Director of Trust Across America-Trust Around the World whose mission is to help organizations build trust. She is also the editor of the award winning TRUST INC. book series. In 2012 Barbara was named “One of 25 Women Changing the World” by Good Business International.

Nominations are now being accepted for Trust Across America-Trust Around the World’s 5th annual Global Top Thought Leaders in Trustworthy Business.

                                                                                               Coming Soon!

Should you wish to communicate directly with Barbara, drop her a note at Barbara@trustacrossamerica.com

Copyright © 2014, Next Decade, Inc.

A good advertisement is one which sells the product without drawing attention to itself.  David Ogilvy

Advertisers play the silliest trust-busting games. We’ve all seen that little “x” in the corner of an online ad. You know what I’m talking about. The one that’s almost impossible to see with the naked eye. Here’s the part where trust gets muddied. If I’m looking for the “x” it means I don’t want to see the ad, or I’m not interested in the product. So why not make that X really BIG and BOLD so people like me don’t have to hunt for it and mumble something about busted trust as we are searching for the tiny little “x” in the corner.

Barbara Brooks Kimmel is the Executive Director of Trust Across America-Trust Around the World whose mission is to help organizations build trust. She is also the editor of the award winning TRUST INC. book series. In 2012 Barbara was named “One of 25 Women Changing the World” by Good Business International.

Nominations are now being accepted for Trust Across America-Trust Around the World’s 5th annual Global Top Thought Leaders in Trustworthy Business.

                                                                                               Coming Soon!

Should you wish to communicate directly with Barbara, drop her a note at Barbara@trustacrossamerica.com

Copyright © 2014, Next Decade, Inc.