Trust is essential to create a successful team and foster a collaborative business environments. In my book, Unbridled Business, I explore how trust serves as a crucial cornerstone for developing an energised and engaged business culture and how embedding purpose and building trust within an organization can create transformational results.
I believe that these two foundational pillars – purpose and trust – support the three unique cornerstones: evolving leadership, empowering others to act, and engaging the environment. Together, these elements catalyze what I refer to as “Unbridled Performance,” a state where no time, energy, or money is wasted, and everything flourishes under the auspices of trust.
The Essence of Trust
Stephen R. Covey states that “trust is the greatest business commodity of the decade”. In our interconnected world, trust influences every relationship and situation, whether personal or professional. Like water sustains life, trust sustains businesses. Without it, projects falter, employees disengage, and strategies crumble. In this light, trust can be seen as a hidden lubricant that reduces friction and fosters a high-performance business environment.
An intriguing lesson on trust comes from working with horses during my “Unbridled Success” retreats. Horses, sensitive and feedback-oriented, do not respond to authority but to influence. This learning extends to human teams; leaders must earn trust to effectively inspire and lead.
Trust as a Leadership Tool
Robert A. McDonald of Procter & Gamble, states that “trust is both a mindset and a toolbox essential for 21st-century leadership.” It is foundational for harmony within a team. Without trust, there’s discord and chaos, much like a herd of distrustful horses that live in fear and conflict.
Often I like to think of trust like money. Good decisions build trust akin to earning money, whereas poor decisions erode trust as if losing money. Every leader starts with a “trust fund” that can either grow or deplete based on their actions. One of the challenges for leaders is that once the bank of trust is emptied it is not easy to build it without considerable time and effort and by demonstrating day in day out that your behaviours have changed, thereby making you now a credible leader.
The Dynamic Duo: Value and Leverage
Trust intertwines seamlessly with the concepts of value and leverage—two critical metrics for business success.
Team members deliver the most value when they are undertaking a task that they are trusted to complete. Often then they are in the state called Flow where work is both enjoyable and effortless, maximising their contribution and impact.
Value is determined by the level to which a team member’s talents are of value to those around them and a team member’s effectiveness in business is measured by the amount of value they deliver to the business. Value results in attraction whereby people are drawn to your goods and services. Wherever you see people getting attracted – to a product, person or company – you will find value. Value creates market attraction. This is the Secret Energy of Business. When value is created, it acts like a magnet, attracting resources to it.
Leverage allows the value to be delivered effectively and sustainably. If a business delivers value and leverages its resources effectively, it will be proitable. Increasing leverage results in growth and reveals the level at which each team member is having an impact.
Leverage is about doing more with less and this is where proit is produced. Value in itself does not ensure a healthy business. Leveraged value ensures that you not only have attraction but the attraction results in profitable results for everyone involved. A business must establish value before it can leverage it effectively. This sequence is crucial; attempting to leverage without established value leads to instability and potential failure.
The Unbridled Team Equation
The impact that team members can have on the business is also a function of value and leverage. When team members are in flow and operating at their full potential, they are naturally adding value by operating at their best, and when they align this with other resources in the organisation, they can leverage for optimum impact. This is what happens when we create high-performing teams. One team member adds value and this is leveraged by someone else
Unbridled Team Performance = Value x Leverage
The talent of an individual is their personal, sustainable value to the team. The talent of a team is the team’s sustainable value to the company. The talent of a company is the company’s sustainable value to their market. In this way, we can see how interconnected an individual’s performance is to the success of the team, which in turn impacts the success of the company
Real-World Application: The Case of Tipico
An illustrative example of these principles in action is the case of Tipico, a leading provider of sports betting and casino games. Tipico embarked on a talent management program using the GC Index to identify and cultivate the potential of its team members. This tool helped individuals understand their unique contributions and how these could be harnessed collectively to enhance team performance. The result was a more focused and impactful team, fully aware of their strengths and how to synergise them for greater effect. This simple exercise increased the level of trust amongst team members as they began to appreciate each other for the unique contribution they all made.
Conclusion
Trust, value, and leverage are more than business buzzwords—they are the pillars upon which thriving businesses are built. As we continue to navigate a world where trust is both a precious commodity and a critical success factor, understanding and implementing these principles is paramount. By fostering an environment where trust is paramount, and by strategically managing value and leverage, businesses can not only survive but thrive.
Show Notes:
Here are the highlights from this episode:
3:38 Trust as a business lubricant
4:30 Impact of no trust
5:00 What is trust
6:03 We don’t trust rules we trust people
7:19 Examples of the government losing trust with the public
8:10 Effect of a lack of trust in business
8:45 Extending trust
10:11 Value v Leverage
16:45 How team members add value and leverage
17:18 Unbridled Team Equation
18:28 Case Study: Tipico Group
22:24 Power of relationships
You can get a complimentary e-version of Unbridled Business here
Julia Felton (aka The Business Wrangler) is the founder of Business HorsePower. Business leaders, entrepreneurs and executives hire her to accelerate their business performance by harnessing the energy of their people to work more collaboratively together. By aligning purpose with actions the team achieves exponential results as everyone starts pulling in the same direction.
Julia believes that business is a force for good and through designing purpose-driven businesses that leverage the laws of nature, and the herd, you can create businesses founded on the principles of connection, collaboration and community that make a significant impact in the world.