Read https://www.uqp.com.au/books/principled
Prominent Australian educator Paul Browning faced this situation when the school he led became embroiled in The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. Principled draws on Browningâs first-hand experience of navigating an organisation through this highly public ethical crisis and outlines the challenges he faced as a leader. Bringing together evidence-based research and over 20 years of management experience, Paul Browning offers timely advice on the 10 key practices that can help executives build and develop skills to become more trustworthy leaders.
Source: Principled by Paul Browning
Paul Browningâs book Principled explores how trust can be destroyed and subsequently regained. It builds on his PhD and early book Compelling Leadership: The Importance of Trust and How to Get It. The aim is to provide practical advice that can be adopted by any leader wishing to become a more trustworthy leader.
There are ten practices associated with building trust discussed in the book:
Each chapter includes an explanation about what the particular practice, how you know when it is not working, and particular tips to help improve in the particular area.
For example, in the chapter on listening, Browning provides the following strategies for getting better:
All throughout, Browning supports his discussions with concrete examples from his own experience as being principal of St. Pauls.
Principled is a useful book to think about and reflect upon practice at any level of leadership, whether it be capital L or small l. It is also one of those books that you can easily come back to focusing as a reference and guide.
A useful introduction can also be found here.
MarginaliaPreface
We all long for leaders we can trust.
When trust is destroyed in the workplace, how do you restore it? The pivotal events around the royal commission led me to complete a PhD to identify the specific practices leaders used to enrich a culture of trust. Since then I have had the privilege of running workshops for well over 3000 leaders in the education and corporate worlds, sharing my toolkit of effective strategies in how to become more trustworthy. This book outlines the 10 leadership practices for building trust that emerged from my research, and also offers an insight into my first-hand experience of rebuilding trust within an organisation and a school community who felt betrayed. It has been written for leaders from all spheres and has two main purposes.
Principled tells the story of trust destroyed and regained and as it does, aims to impart practical advice that can be adopted by any leader wishing to become a more trustworthy leader.
Why trust?
In this day and age it would seem that not just two, but three things are certain in life: death, taxes and the decline of trust.
No-one wants to follow a person they do not trust. Who wants to board a plane with a pilot who hasnât been issued their licence to fly? Trust is widely recognised as one of the key qualities that a successful leader needs to bring about change within their organisation. Professor Andy Hargreaves, a well-respected researcher, writer, speaker and policy advisor, affirms the value of trust: âIt creates and consolidates energy, commitment and relationships. When trust is broken, people lessen their commitment and withdraw from relationships and entropy abounds.â
What is trust?
The idea of trust is hard to define but we certainly know when it is missing. Some have said that we notice trust as we notice air, only when it becomes scarce or polluted. That pollution, or distrust, can cause resentment and frustration, making some people deeply unhappy and unproductive in their work. Betrayal and distrust are particularly insidious behaviours because they easily undermine the mission and objectives of an organisation. When trust is low, most people feel uneasy or apprehensive, or they perceive danger and go into self-protection mode. They personalise everything, using unnecessary energy and precious time to assess the risks in dealing with everyone, constantly worrying that they will be the recipients of othersâ harmful actions.
When Hall asked the respondents to imagine a person that they trusted the most and then list words that came to mind to describe that person, the top five responses were: honesty, genuineness, integrity, selflessness and consistency. In contrast, the top five words people used to describe the person that they trust the least were: dishonesty, selfishness, scheming, incongruence and backstabbing.
Perhaps the best way to understand trust is to recognise that it cannot be accurately defined because it is a socially constructed phenomenon.
We each value trust and enjoy its benefits without realising it, but we certainly know when it is missing because it causes pain and makes us behave in ways contrary to what we believe and value.
Why is trust important?
It is less likely that a company will be able to innovate and remain competitive if trust is low or absent. A low-trust culture can often be the result of, or result in, the leader resorting to a traditional hierarchical and authoritarian form of control and leadership. This can in turn become an endless cycle of distrust, broken only by the removal of the leader.
The building of trust should be the core business of any leader no matter the context: sport, politics, business, not-for-profit, church or voluntary organisations. Once trust is established, it becomes the norm that sets the standard for how employees (both paid and voluntary) behave towards each other and perform their work. Once it becomes part of the culture of an organisation, trust works to liberate people to be their best, to give others their best, and to take risks and innovate.
When employees view their leader as trustworthy, a well-communicated vision becomes collective, inspiring commitment on the part of the staff to take the necessary risks and innovative steps required to realise that vision. (This has me thinking about Leading Teams and the place of trust within that sort of program.)
Trust myths dispelled
Firstly, leadership trust is not dependent on personality.
The second interesting thing that came out of the study was that trust is not built over time.
The final finding was that each of the leaders was employing multiple practices to engender trust.
My research suggests that it isnât a question of whether or not a person is trusted, but rather a question of how much they are trusted.
I enjoy listening to music. I have quite a number of favourite songs but I couldnât tell you the lyrics to any of them. It amazes me when I come across people who know all the lyrics to their favourite songs; a reflection perhaps, on my listening skills? I listen but I donât necessarily hear.
Talking is easy. Listening is hard work
Listening is not about you; it is about connecting with the other person on a level far deeper than the superficial.
listening, when done well, builds trust.
Great listeners rarely speak, something I have had to work really hard at. When they do they are primarily asking clarifying questions to gain a better understanding of what the person has said, or to summarise what they have heard, identifying the emotions the person has tried to express.
When we truly listen we are not just suspending our preconceptions about a situation or refraining from making a judgement, we are exposing ourselves to a particular vulnerability. We are putting at risk our own preconceptions of the world, our own beliefs and our own values.
To truly listen to another person is to put your existing beliefs at risk.
The litigious environment in which we live makes it even more difficult for people to admit when they are wrong; the stakes are often extremely high. Those stakes are driven in part by our western legal system.
how leaders deal with their mistakes sets the tone for the rest of the organisation and is a key factor in the creation of trust.
innovation can often follow on the heels of a crisis, it will only be successful if people are willing to accept responsibility and commit to fixing the problem; that is, when a culture of trust is restored.
Great leaders know it is better to be on the front foot rather than reactive. They realise that conspiracy theories will fill the void created by inaction. At best, a highly trusted leader will take responsibility and admit their mistakes even when no-one knew that something was wrong.
The risks are all the greater if you are a public figure â itâs a long way to fall. A belated apology, or worse, an apology given because there is no alternative, will rarely be seen as genuine.
For some reason, we place greater value on being right than doing right. If we have to be right, we will never apologise for our failings.
Things are rarely as bad as we think. What is the worst that will happen when people find out about the mistake? What is actually at risk? List the possible consequences of admitting the mistake and what it will take to fix it, then compare this to the consequences of doing nothing.
At some point you may even need to ignore legal advice and do what is right, no matter what the cost.
at the time it will seem that all is lost and there is no way out, doing the right thing is a true testament to your character and will strengthen trust. This is one characteristic of good leadership that people will admire above all else, and will stand the test of time.
Leadership isnât about being the most experienced person in the room, or the most intelligent; it is about inspiring others to achieve the vision.
It is often said that it isnât until you have scar tissue on your back that you become a true leader. Some of that scar tissue is created by the mistakes we make.
One of the most powerful actions for gaining the trust of others is ïŹrstly to give it. For leaders, this invariably means taking a risk; offering trust and allowing employees to do their job can be hard for managers who believe that âif you want a job done well, itâs best to do it yourselfâ. This may be so, but does this result in the growth of others, or in you burning out because of overwork?
Leadership takes place wherever people come together in a relationship for a particular purpose.
Your job as a leader is not to create a âmini-meâ but to empower others, enabling them to flourish and contribute their own unique dispositions, gifts and capabilities to their work.
Offering trust doesnât mean that there isnât accountability or support for growth; it means allowing others to do the job they are employed to do and, if necessary, allowing them to experience failure.
Offering trust doesnât mean that there isnât accountability or support for growth; it means allowing others to do the job they are employed to do and, if necessary, allowing them to experience failure.
The role of a leader is not to interfere with an employeeâs work but to provide feedback or mentoring support if required.
Pink says that businesses that focus only on profits without valuing purpose will end up with poor customer service and unhappy employees. Studies done at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the United States showed that higher pay and bonuses resulted in better performance only if a task consisted of basic mechanical processes. The reality is that robotics and artificial intelligence will be replacing these tasks in the not-too-distant future, if they havenât already, so the value of performance bonuses will diminish even further.
If we are truly confident in ourselves and comfortable with our leadership capabilities then we would offer trust to others, allowing them to blossom in the opportunities our willingness to be humble provides. You donât have to lead all the time.
One of the primary roles of a leader is to create a pathway for the next generation.
In offering trust, their role is not to disappear from the situation, but to stand to the side, ready to provide coaching or feedback if needed.
Great leaders employ people who are better than they are, or allow people to grow to be better than they ever were, much in the same way a parent wants their child to have better opportunities than they did.
When a leader can effectively make themselves dispensable and completely switch off while they are on leave, they will know they have done their job well. They will have empowered others to become better; they will have distributed the leadership and grown capacity, and in doing so, genuinely offered trust.
Of course, we have to be prudent and reduce risk, but we canât minimise risk if it means denying people their opportunity to flourish and enjoy the fulfilment that relationships bring
One leader who participated in my research into trust and leadership said to me: âItâs not a democracy, you know, I am the one who has to make the decisions.â That is certainly true but trust is gained by the way a leader makes that decision, and nurtured by the decision-making process they use. There are three broad decision-making practices: decisive, collaborative and consultative.
My own research into trust and leadership showed that for a majority of people the opportunity to participate and contribute to a decision was the act that engendered trust, not the outcome itself. If employees feel valued in the process and understand the reasoning behind the final decision, they will more readily accept the outcome and the ensuing changes, paving the way for a smoother change-management process.
Highly trusted leaders donât look for people to support their position; they invite constructive controversy. Pessimistic employees have a view of the world that an enthusiastic, charismatic leader may not have: they serve as an important reality check.
Providing Affirmation
A highly trusted leader will employ a range of appreciation strategies including publicly thanking employees at staff briefings, sending emails or handwritten thank-you notes, leaving a basket of fruit on a desk to sustain a team during a challenging project, or simply speaking to a person privately to afïŹrm them.
Demeanour
The first key to leadership is to get to know yourself â who you are, what your triggers are, and how your body reacts to stressful situations. Controlling your demeanour, the outward expression of what you are feeling internally, is an important trust-building practice.
If you are someone who experiences emotional highs and lows or is prone to losing your temper inexplicably, then maybe it is an indicator of a deep pain that you have buried and long ignored.
Understanding what can cause you to become frustrated, annoyed or angry is the first step to learning how to manage your demeanour. Once you identify your triggers, you can develop strategies to help you manage them.
Consider asking a trusted colleague or mentor for feedback on your facial expressions and your non-verbal communication. Ask them to pay particular attention to your body language in meetings or during difficult conversations.
the hero CEO approach rarely, if ever, results in lasting positive organisational change. Lasting change and more profound positive impact is achieved through the empowerment of others, both in trusting them to do the work and in finding new and innovative solutions.
One of the main goals of any coaching session is listening with the intent to help the coachee unlock their hidden potential. Coaching is about asking, while managing is about telling.
Wise leaders know when to switch from managing, to coaching or mentoring. They have a growth mindset and see others in a positive light, recognising their desire to improve.
The RACSR Model (see Figure 8.2) has a focus on building a strong relationship between a coach and coachee and highlights the responsibility of the coach to provide support. This model is more comprehensive with a focus on developing rapport. It suggests that coaching wonât be as effective unless there is a foundation relationship in place, built on trust.
When the person you are coaching shares their story remember that communication is 55 per cent body language, 35 per cent tone of voice, and 10 per cent what is said.
Why is care an important practice in building trust? Because when someone cares for you, you feel safe, you feel valued, you feel understood and you feel that you matter.
The wise opening words of David Brooksâ 2015 book The Road to Character encourages us to pause and reflect:
âIâve been thinking about the difference between resumĂ© virtues and eulogy virtues. ResumĂ© virtues are the ones you list on your resumĂ©, the skills you bring to the job market and that contribute to external success. The eulogy virtues are deeper. Theyâre the virtues that get talked about at your funeral, the ones that exist at the core of your being â whether you are kind, brave, honest or faithful; the type of relationships you formed.â
To offer genuine care, a leader may have to bend the rules.
A good question to ask yourself is: âWould people still follow me even if they didnât have to?â
Good counsellors have a supervisor, good leaders have a coach. They know that they are not immune to the effects of stress, or the immense responsibility for the lives of those they lead.
If you genuinely want to grow trust, you need to be prepared to carry that burden with them in solitude.
To truly keep a personâs confidence, you have to be comfortable in your own skin so your identity isnât caught up in what you know, but rather is measured by how much you are trusted.
Changing Culture
Listening is much harder than talking, because listening involves a deliberate effort of will. It requires us to set aside the things we would rather be thinking about, or our preconceived notions about ourselves and others, and focus exclusively on what others are saying to us. The sound may come to the ears of the leader as a noisy gong or clanging cymbal.
To truly admit your mistakes and restore trust, you need to walk in solidarity with those who were wronged. You cannot understand the impact of your mistake unless you can enter the other personâs world and see the injustice from their point of view.
One way to avoid being subsumed into the existing culture is to write a list of the standard or expected social behaviours that you want to change within the organisation and a list of the ones you want to adopt. Post your list on a wall near your desk as a reminder of your goals for the organisation.
Resist the urge to give into the pleas of people who are struggling with change. It never ceases to surprise me that even though people have been invited to be part of the solution and agreed to decisions, itâs not until a change initiative has been implemented that they realise the change is actually going to impact them. Most innovations fail, not because they were a bad idea, but because people gave up too early.
Appendix: A study in trust
You donât notice the value of trust until it is missing.
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