THE NEWS OF AL HABTOOR LEIGHTON GROUP Dubai - UAE ...

NEW Perspecti
VOICES FROM WITHIN
A New Year’s Perspective
Michele Johnson
General Manager Human Resources Leighton International
The word Trust is defined as placing confidence
and having faith in somebody or in somebody’s
good qualities, especially fairness, truth, honor
or ability. Do you find it easy to trust others? Do
others find it easy to trust you?
Have you ever thought about how your life or work could
be impacted positively if you extended more trust in your
relationships? I recently read a book which was given to
me by some friends as a going-away present as we departed KL
and headed to Dubai. It’s called “The Speed of Trust”, written by
Stephen M. R. Covey, the son of the Stephen R. Covey, author of
“The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People”. The Speed of Trust is
an interesting book, and given the recent merger of Al Habtoor
with Leighton, its key messages are noteworthy. Covey says
that trust is “The one thing that changes everything” and he
starts the book with the following passage: “There is one thing
that is common to every individual, relationship team, family,
organization, nation, economy, and civilization throughout the
world – one thing which, if removed, will destroy the most
powerful government, the most successful business, the most
thriving economy, the most influential leadership, the greatest
friendship, the strongest character, the deepest love.
On the other hand, if developed and leveraged, that one thing
has the potential to create unparalleled success and prosperity
in every dimension of life. Yet, it is the least understood, most
neglected, and most underestimated possibility of our time.
That one thing is trust.” When I first read this I thought “that’s
nice, but what has trust got to do with the word in the title of
the book itself, speed”?
The author demonstrates a linkage of trust with speed and
cost, and argues that high trust increases speed and therefore
lowers cost. Conversely, Low trust decreases speed and raises
cost. He gives a macro level example of this in the current state
of world affairs and how it impacts air travel. Since 9/11, it is
fair to say that our trust in flying has decreased. If terrorists are
trying to harm people, then obviously we need a better system
of ensuring passenger safety. Now that new safety procedures
are in place, we have to arrive at the airport earlier than before,
and go through increased security procedures. So it takes more
time for us to travel (the speed has gone down). These new
security measures, such as bomb scanning technology, placing
liquids in clear plastic bags, increased security personnel and
checkpoints also cost more (the cost goes up). Can you think of
a time when extending a high degree of trust made something
happen faster and cost less?
Let’s take an example that applies at work. If you carefully teach
a subordinate how to complete their tasks, put simple control
mechanisms into place and then entrust them to carry out their
job, you will spend less of your valuable time checking their work
(decreasing cost) and you will gradually be able to entrust them
with more complex tasks, thus aiding in their development. Get
the idea?
Covey warns however that we should not give trust blindly. He
defines “zones” of trust in the below matrix. He emphasizes the
advantages of extending “Smart Trust”. The matrix is based
on two main factors – your “propensity to trust” (the degree
to which you give trust based on your personal beliefs and
experiences) and “analysis” (your ability to evaluate a situation
and make good decisions). If we are in Zone 1 (gullible) we will
surely be taken advantage of. In Zone 2 (the sweet spot), we
are using good judgment and enjoying the benefits. If we are
plagued by indecision (in Zone 3) we feel we can’t trust anyone,
not even ourselves! But Zone 4 (suspicion) is the worst place
Continued on Page 27
26 AKHBAR ALDAR - NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2007