The Business Case for Trust

0By Rena M. Klein, FAIA

0As explained by cultural anthropologist Angeles Arrien, “Trust is the opposite of control.” While rules, policies, and contracts seek to control outcomes, business relationships based on trust enable outcomes to be better, faster, and less costly. According to leadership expert Stephen M. R. Covey, trust makes all the difference.

0In his book, The Speed of Trust (Simon & Schuster, 2006), Covey, son of the famous management guru Stephan R. Covey, makes the case for the business benefits of trust. Citing a 2002 finding by Watson Wyatt, a global consulting firm, , Covey reports that “Organizations with high trust outperform organizations with low trust by nearly three times.”

0Covey presents numerous metrics that show the benefits of trust to the bottom line, the “trust dividend” as he terms it. These benefits include accelerated growth, enhanced innovation, improved collaboration, stronger partnering, better execution, and heightened loyalty in both employees and customers.

0Most architects, engineers, and builders would attest to the truth of these research findings. Although contracts and documentation are necessary, when trust exists among all project stakeholders, decisions and execution are quicker, easier and cost less. The promise of Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) and the potential of Building Information Modeling (BIM) depend on the team members’ proclivity to trust and to be worthy of trust.

Integrated Practice and Cultural Change

For the design and construction industry this suggests a radical shift. As stated in the AIA Report on Integrated Practice: Roadmap to Integration, “The fragmentation in our industry has resulted in a drastic decline in efficiency compared to other industries — efficiency within our own processes as well as within the buildings we have created. As other industries have found effective ways to balance resources, time, and productivity, the building industry has created more waste and less efficiency … Often, teams working on the same project do not share data, forcing each other to redraw information or pay royalties for its use. This separatism has not solved the problems of litigation or quality control that it tried to cure, but rather adds to the inefficiencies and waste … If we are to trust Einstein’s maxim, the solution must involve an opposing doctrine of connectivity, integration, and interdependence. It is a matter of changing not only the way we live, but the way we think and the way we work. A culture of change requires a spirit of teamwork and interconnectedness that is far different from our current state of isolation and adversarial tendencies.”

0To create integrated and highly productive project teams, trust is the critical element. According to Covey, trust of others and oneself begins with achieving credibility, defined as the sum of character and competence. Qualities that demonstrate credibility include:

• Integrity: honesty, “walk your talk,” congruence, courage to act in accordance with values and principles;

• Intent: motives, agendas, level of concern for mutual benefit; people judge themselves by intent and others by behavior, so behavior must reflect intent;

• Capabilities: talents, attitudes, skills, knowledge, style;

• Results: track record, performance, getting the right things done.

0Barriers to achieving trust stem mostly from commonly held myths about trust that Covey attempts to dispel. These include:

0Myths	0Reality
0Trust is built solely on integrity	0Trust is built on honesty, perceived motives, competence, and track record
0You either have trust or you don’t	0Trust can be created and destroyed
0Once lost, trust cannot be restored	0Genuine apology, reparations, and changes in behavior can restore trust
0Trusting people is too risky	0Not trusting people is expensive and time consuming; find people to work with who are trustworthy

0More information on these myths is available at CoveyLink.

0Covey presents compelling research and anecdotal evidence that changing these mental models about trust can result in significant benefits for organizations, teams and personal relationships. When trust is nurtured and preserved in business endeavors, the trust dividend is manifest in cooperative relationships; a focus on leveraging each other’s strengths; cordial and positive communication; and an alignment of systems and structures.

The Marketing Value of Trust

0For architectural firms, trust is crucial to obtaining commissions as well as delivering projects. This is because, in selling professional services, the service is inseparable from the person providing it. Covey suggests thirteen behaviors that demonstrate credibility and trustworthiness. Those that are particularly applicable to selling architectural services include:

0• Be Sincere

0o Talk straight

0o Demonstrate respect

0o Listen first

0• Be Caring

0o Right wrongs

0o Show loyalty

0o Extend trust

0• Be Responsible

0o Clarify expectations

0o Practice accountability

0o Keep commitments

0o Deliver results

Trust, but Verify (Ronald Reagan)

1While Covey advocates for trust as a business strategy and a competitive advantage, he is careful to make a distinction between what he calls “Smart Trust” and what is known as “blind trust.” He defines Smart Trust as having a propensity to trust combined with the analysis needed to manage risks wisely.

0To be a successful leader, Covey suggests that character and competence is not enough. Along with those qualities must be the ability to extend Smart Trust. Empowering others with responsibility and authority and extending trust to those judged credible will bring out the best in people’s resourcefulness and commitment. In turn, this will create an environment of excellence and collaboration that reaps high trust dividends.

0“The number one job of any leader is to inspire trust. It’s to release the creativity and capacity of individuals to give their best and to create a high-trust environment in which they can efficiently work with others.” (Stephen M. R. Covey, The Speed of Trust)

0For architects leading collaborative teams, these are words to live by.

Internet Resources

0• CoveyLink: www.coveylink.com

0• Watson Wyatt: www.watsonwyatt.com/services

0• AIA Integrated Project Delivery: www.aia.org/ip_default

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Rena M. Klein, FAIA, principal of R.M. Klein Consulting, in Seattle, Washington, is a member of the Soloso Editorial Content Review Board and the Subject Matter Expert for Practice.

0Keywords: Practice, Leadership, Practice management, Marketing, Project delivery, Integrated project delivery, Teambuilding, Trust, Critique