Delegate Like a Pro: Building Trust in Human Services

In the realm of human services, trust is the cornerstone of effective relationships and organizational success. Whether you’re providing direct support to individuals or managing a team of dedicated professionals, establishing trust is essential. The four cores of credibility, as defined in The Speed of Trust, offer a universal framework for building trust in any organization. These cores—integrity, intent, capabilities, and results—make you believable to yourself and others. The first two cores deal with character, while the second two focus on competence.

If you have read The Four Dysfunctions of a Team or The Ideal Team Player by Patrick Lencioni, you will recognize familiar language and concepts, especially “Humble, Hungry, and Smart.” In The Speed of Trust, the visual metaphor of a tree illustrates how all four cores of credibility are interconnected and vital. You can have the best systems and technology in place, but without a foundation of trust with your team, those tools will not get you very far. Additionally, delegating is a principle practice for any manager and delegation can be challenging when trust is not established.  Let’s break down these principles of trust further.

 Integrity

In the tree metaphor, integrity is just below the surface.  It is the root system out of which everything else grows.  It is vital to the nourishment, strength, stability, and growth of the entire tree.  For most people, integrity and honesty are synonymous but it also means to leave the right impression.  And having the humility to be more concerned with what is right rather than being right.

 For many years as a supervisor, I struggled with having hard conversations and giving feedback.  I received a complaint that someone I supervised in an office setting, had a strong body odor that was bothering others which resulted in hurtful gossip being shared without her knowledge.  This was someone I cared for and we had what I considered to be a friendship.  I agonized for weeks about how to speak with her about the feedback I had received.  When I finally found the courage to have the conversation, she tearfully accepted the feedback, and it turned out she had something medical going on that could be addressed.  A few weeks later, she asked to be supervised by someone else and I was devastated.  She told me that it hurt her that I had knowledge of the situation for so long and got stuck in my fear and how awkward I felt about delivering the feedback.  I realized that I had not kept my commitment as a supervisor and lacked the courage to do what I knew was right- what I would want someone to do for me.  There was a gap between my values and my actions; I needed to grow in integrity.

 Intent

Intent is somewhat more visible than integrity in the tree metaphor.  It is the trunk that emerges from under the surface out into the open.  Someone’s perception of intent has a huge impact on trust; people often distrust because of the assumptions or conclusions they draw about what we do.

 As I have worked on my delivery of feedback and courage to have the hard conversations, I have worried about finding the right words and was often paralyzed by wanting perfection.  One of the stories in The Speed of Trust, where Stephen Covey accidentally leaves his wife on the side of the road but she knew immediately he had not done it purposely, impressed upon me how important it is that others know my intent to have high trust with me.  I developed the habit of beginning difficult conversations by declaring my intent.  That way if I chose the wrong word or reacted in the moment, the person was already aware of what I was trying to accomplish and why.  This allowed me to be more authentic and relaxed in conversations and over time, I began to feel more confident and capable in managing conflict.  I found that trust grows when motives are straightforward and based on mutual benefit.

 Capabilities

Capabilities are the abilities we have and exercise that inspire confidence and what we use to produce results.  They are the branches of the tree that enable us to produce. Capable people are credible and inspire the trust of others.

 I like and respect Dr. Givant, a pediatrician at Kaiser.  She has been a pediatrician to both of my kids for 18 years and I have developed a great relationship with her.  She is a person of integrity, and I consistently felt her intent that the whole family receive the best care possible without judgment.  She also consistently received 5-star reviews from patients.  But when I was diagnosed with cancer, I did not call her despite the high trust I have with her.  I needed a specific set of skills to have confidence and therefore trust, in my oncology team and treatment.  I found an amazing oncologist who, in addition to having impeccable integrity and intent, is the department head and prides himself on staying relevant and providing cutting-edge services and treatments.  And he has the statistics to back it all up.

 To maintain credibility, we as individuals and organizations must continually improve our capabilities and stay relevant.

 Results

Results refer to our track record, our performance, and our ability to get the right things done.  In our tree metaphor, results are the fruits- the visible, tangible, measurable outcomes that are most easily seen and evaluated by others.  If you didn’t achieve results, it would be a barren tree.

 “You can’t create a high-trust culture unless people perform.” -Craig Wetherup, former CEO of PepsiCo

 Over the years, working in human service organizations, it was common to have teams with excellently talented, purpose-driven members who lead with integrity.  Good people are drawn to this kind of service.  I worked for an organization where we would talk about what we wanted to achieve and prioritize what we felt would make the biggest difference to the organization each year.  However, despite having gifted and dedicated people, we rarely achieved the goals we set.  This had a ripple effect on the employee and client confidence in the organization because we could not seem to deliver on these annual goals.  This is when I learned the hard way that being well-meaning wasn’t enough and that results matter.  We had to take a hard look at the “what” and “how” of the results we were getting that were not leading to the desired outcomes.  The Four Disciplines of Execution is a book that has profoundly changed the way goals are approached in many organizations.  Compass uses a balanced scorecard and the WIG (Wildly Important Goal) process to define and communicate organizational goals and it has contributed to the high trust and credibility felt by stakeholders.

 “You can’t talk yourself out of a problem you’ve behaved yourself into.” -Stephen Covey

“No, but you can behave yourself out of a problem you’ve behaved yourself into…and often faster than you think.” -Stephen M.R. Covey

 In relationships, whether personal or professional, what you do has a much greater impact than anything you might say.  The Speed of Trust describes 12 behaviors that lend to the acceleration of trust.  You can read about each and see concrete examples of deposits and withdrawals in relationship and team trust accounts throughout the book.

 

“It is equally an error to trust all men or no man.” -Latin Proverb

 

A few of you may be thinking, this sounds great, but the reality is that some people are just not trustworthy and sometimes we get burned.  There is a spectrum when it comes to trust.  On one end we don’t trust enough, living in the realm of suspicion.  On the other end of the spectrum, we are too trusting and potentially naïve. Extending trust increases dividends but it also creates the possibility of risk and trust taxes.  The Speed of Trust has a Smart Trust matrix that helps find the sweet spot when it comes to trust which helps manage the risk.

 

“Trust, but verify.” -Ronald Reagan

 I can still remember exactly how it felt when trust was extended to me in the form of that promotion to kiosk manager.  It opened the gate for my leadership capabilities to grow and sparked an interest in the concept of trust in the workplace.  I have often mistakenly used the concepts of “delegation” and “extending trust” interchangeably when they are very different.  Extending trust can help others rise to challenges, uncover potential, and make mutually beneficial contributions.  Trust usually brings out the best in people.  It brings joy to relationships, results to work, and confidence to lives.  It breeds an extraordinary dividend in every part of our lives: the speed of trust.