Building Trust

This is a summary of 13 behaviors that build trust from the book Speed of Trust by Stephen R. Covey.

Behavior #1        Talk Straight

Be honest and tell the truth. Let people know where you stand. Use simple language. Don’t manipulate people or distort facts. Don’t spin the truth. Don’t leave false impressions.

Behavior #2        Demonstrate Respect

Genuinely care for others. Show you care. Respect the dignity of every person and every role. Show kindness and little things.

Behavior #3        Create Transparency

Tell the truth in a way people can verify. Declare your intent. Get real and be genuine. 

Behavior #4        Right Wrongs

Make things right when you are wrong. Apologize quickly. Make restitution where possible.

Behavior #5        Show Loyalty

Give credit to others. Speak about people as if they were present. Represent others who are there to speak for themselves.

Behavior #6        Deliver Results

Establish a track record of results. Get the right things done. Make things happen. Accomplish what you’re hired to do. Be on time and within budget.

Behavior #7        Get Better

Continuously improve. Increase your capabilities. Be a constant learner. Develop feedback systems, both formal and informal. Act on the feedback you receive. Thank people for feedback. Don’t consider yourself above feedback.

Behavior #8        Confront Reality

Take issues head on. Address the rough stuff directly. Acknowledge the unsaid. Confront issues before they turn into major problems. Confront the reality, not the person. Lead out courageously in conversation. Don’t skirt the real issues. 

Behavior #9        Clarify Expectations

Disclose and reveal expectations. Discuss them. Validate them. 

Behavior #10     Practice Accountability

Hold yourself accountable first; hold others accountable second. Take responsibility for results, good or bad. 

Behavior #11     Listen First

Listen before you speak. Understand. Listen with your ears, your eyes and your heart. 

Behavior #12     Keep Commitments

Say what you were going to do, and then do it. 

Behavior #13     Extend Trust

Demonstrate a propensity to trust. Extend trust abundantly to those who have earned your trust. 

Storytelling in Business

In this chat I talk about the importance of Storytelling in Business.

By telling better stories, you keep your audience engaged and help them to better understand.  You create emotional connections, transfer values and beliefs, and are more effective at influencing.

All great stories have:

• A beginning that sets the context, the characters (who), and the conflict (problem)
• A middle where the protagonist learns and grows to handle the conflict
• The end where the resolution to the story is told.

When delivering your story in a presentation, resist the urge to tell an exploratory story especially if your presentation is about data and numbers.  Instead tell an explanatory story about what you found in the data.

You've probably hear about the Why, What and How of presentations and these align with great storytelling.

• The Why (why should your audience care) is the context, the characters, and the conflict
• The What is your big idea.  It's your high level strategy on how you will resolve the conflict
• The How is the details (again, gauged for your audience) about how you implement you big idea

Confirmation Bias

Where do your beliefs and opinions come from? If you're like most people, you feel that your convictions are rational, logical, and impartial, based on the result of years of experience and objective analysis of the information you have available.

In reality, all of us are susceptible to a problem known as a confirmation bias. Our beliefs are often based on paying attention to the information that upholds them—while at the same time tending to ignore the information that challenges them.

So what's the definition of confirmation bias.  A confirmation bias is a type of cognitive bias and that makes you have a tendency to process information by looking for, or interpreting, information that is consistent with your existing beliefs.

Here is how it works.

1. You tend to not seeking out objective facts.

2. You Interpreting information to support your existing beliefs

3. You only remembering details that uphold your beliefs.

4. You ignore or try to discredit information that challenges your beliefs.  i.e. see #1

The problem with confirmation bias is that it impacts how we gather information, but they also influence how we interpret and recall information. For example, people who support or oppose a particular issue will not only seek information to support it, they will also interpret news stories in a way that upholds their existing ideas. They will also remember details in a way that reinforces these attitudes.

For example, during an election season, people may tend to seek positive information that paints their favored candidates in a good light. They will also look for information that casts the opposing candidate in a negative light

By not seeking out objective facts, interpreting information in a way that only supports their existing beliefs, and only remembering details that uphold these beliefs, they often miss important information. These details and facts might have otherwise influenced their decision on which candidate to support.

Unfortunately, we all have confirmation bias. Even if you believe you are very open-minded and only observe the facts before coming to conclusions, it's very likely that some bias will shape your opinion in the end. It's very difficult to combat this natural tendency.

That said, if we know about confirmation bias and accept the fact that it does exist, we can make an effort to recognize it by working to be curious about opposing views and really listening to what others have to say and why. This can help us better see issues and beliefs from another perspective, though we still need to be very conscious of wading past our confirmation bias.

How to deal with ambiguity

How to deal with ambiguity

Let's start with what exactly is ambiguity.  The dictionary defines ambiguity as the quality of being open to more than one interpretation; inexactness.  

• Ambiguity is characterized by a significant doubt about cause and effect relationships.
• It is impossible to diagnose from a singular perspective.
• It’s second- and third-order effects are capable of making an organization completely ineffective.

Two symptoms are frequently associated with ambiguity:

• The inability to accurately conceptualize threats and opportunities before they become lethal,
• Increasing frustration that compartmentalized accomplishments don’t add up to comprehensive and enduring success. 

Why can something be ambiguous to someone.  The environment is unfamiliar or outside of your expertise.  It can also be because there is lack of clarity about the meaning of an event.

What you can do:

If you are the one that is often causing ambiguity:

• Be Understandable .  
• Ensure there is clarity in purpose, direction, responsibilities, and expected outcomes will empower others.  Do not dismiss questions from your team like “What are we doing?” and “What is our goal?”.  

If you are on the receiving end of ambiguity:

• Listen well.  There is a difference between listening and waiting to speak.  
• Think divergently.  
• Openness to new ideas is a leadership characteristic highly correlated with effectiveness.  This means seeing past your own ideas.  
• Setup incremental dividends.
• When the way ahead is not clear, it is reassuring to have tangible proof that we are moving I the right direction.
• Make a cultural shift towards experimentation.

By learning how to deal with ambiguity you will be able to effectively cope with change; can shift gears comfortably; can decide and act without having the total picture; you'll get less upset when things are up in the air; can comfortably handle risk and uncertainty.