“Giving trust is not safe. But it’s good. It’s always a risk, but it’s always worth it.” -Richard Fagerlin
TRUST-OL-O-GY
I just finished reading the book, Trustology: The Art and Science of Leading High-Trust Teams by my friend Richard Fagerlin. Richard understands what it takes to build a culture of trust. Trustology inspires leaders and managers to tenaciously maintain an environment of trust because the fruit of cooperative behavior is worth the effort. People who don’t trust one another can only cooperate under a highly regulated and enforceable system of policies. This poisons the roots of creativity and it doesn’t take long before a culture of distrust erodes productivity.
DIAGNOSING BROKEN TRUST AND PRESCRIBING A REMEDY TO REBUILD IT
Trust is the foundation of all relationships. High trust cultures beget exceptionally competent people with highly creative output. High trust communities are the ones that out-work, out-serve, and out-enjoy those low trust communities that have degraded into survival mode. The fruit of distrust is obvious, and Richard’s book offers a prescription to prune out the dead branches of distrust so that new vibrant growth can return to a team. I highly recommend Trustology as a resource to diagnose problems on any team, and prescribe a process for returning to the Promised Land of trust.
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OUTDOOR MINISTRY IS A SURGICAL INSTRUMENT TO REMOVE DISTRUST AND CAST NEW VISION FOR THE BLESSING OF TRANSPARENCY
Having worked with hundreds of teams myself, I completely agree with Richard’s laser sharp focus on “trust” as the root from which an organization grows and bears healthy fruit. Just as people need certain basics to survive, like food, water, and shelter… In my book, Christian Outdoor Leadership: Theology, Theory, and Practice: I highlight TRUST as one of the five foundation stones that every culture and society needs to survive and thrive… and assert that every leader’s most basic responsibility is to foster an environment of trust. Build trust, and you have just unlocked the potential of every person on your team. This is a great read. I highly recommend it.
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