Trust... Can You Hear It

In Stephen Covey’s book The Speed of Trust, co-authored by Rebecca R. Merrill, there is a summary on page 214 of Behavior #11 ‘Listen First’ which reads as follows…

 

Listen before you speak. Understand. Diagnose. Listen with your ears – and your eyes and heart. Find out what the most important behaviors are to the people you’re working with. Don’t assume you know what matters most to others. Don’t presume you have all the answers – or all the questions.

 

This book is an excellent resource for discovering how trust can support your goals and the goals of those you serve. This was also a resource in the sessions we created for the Solutions Vault on Trust. The reason I highlighted Behavior #11 ‘Listen First’ is because Stephen Covey suggests we listen with our heart.

 

 

 

This is a powerful idea, and one that is at the core of connecting our actions with the deepest needs of our clients. While trust is built over time, it only takes a moment to listen deeply. Doing so is like planting a seed in rich soil, so that it might grow in strength and beauty.

 

 

 

If this seems a distant correlation to the demanding terrain of the business world, consider this…

 

 

 

Everything you achieve is a byproduct of the trust others have given to you.

 

Where is this more evident than your first job. With no experience, a lot of energy, and the hope that you might land your first job, you set out to find your place in the working world. The adventure may have taken you to a restaurant, an office, a local park, painting houses, or mowing lawns in the neighborhood. The common thread in every case if that someone gave their trust to you. Before that trust was given to you, they were willing to listen. Whether you were met with skepticism, openness, or something in between, someone had to listen long enough to determine that they would give you a chance; that they would give you their trust.

 

 

 

The discussion of trust is always powerful and important; at this time in our shared American history, long after Enron, trust remains a rare element of corporate relationships.

 

 

 

So, this is what I ask you: Are you listening with your heart to your clients, employees, partners, associates, and others? Are you taking time to build the foundation of deep understanding that is required to foster a strong relationship? Are you applying your awareness of your customers needs in service to them, or are you exploiting the needs of your customers in service to you?

 

I know these are tough questions, which is why you don’t have to answer right now. Just listen with your heart and take time to find out if you can hear trust being shared between you and your employees, customers, and others. If you aren’t sure, here’s a few examples of how trust sounds…

 

 

 

• “Thanks John, I knew I could count on you!”
• “I’ll take your word for it.”
• "I’ll leave it up to you.”
• “Get it back to me whenever you like.”
• “I’ll leave a key for you under the mat.”

 

You can hear trust, you simply have to listen closely to realize it’s presence, or it’s absence.

 

 

 

Listening with your heart is how you plant a seed of listening and being heard deeply enough to create strong and durable roots. These are the roots that grow into a deep and abiding trust, with listening being one of many seeds of trust, you control the depth at which each seed is planted, the depth being equal to the strength of that element of trust.