If I had a nickel every time someone said I should work with politicians, I’d be able to buy a coffee. And not just a plain coffee, no. One of those double mocha, skinny cappuccinos with an extra shot of espresso and with chocolate sprinkles on top kind. Yup. I get asked it a lot!
I reached out to my colleagues at Trust Across America and got great advice. If we want to improve the political climate, then we have to look at the trustworthiness of the people who are in politics. It’s difficult to overhaul the whole system, but maybe we can start demanding that every politician adheres to a code of conduct that has as its top value TRUST!
With permission from Barbara Brooks Kimmel of Trust Across America, I am posting a quick quiz that is available on their website. I wonder what it would be like if we could get every politician to answer this honestly?
*** Warning your degree of honesty and vulnerability may affect your score***
Give yourself ten points for every “yes” answer below:
- Do I understand that trust is not a soft skill and that it has tangible value?
- Have I thought about what it means to be trustworthy in both my personal life and my professional life?
- Is trust mentioned in my company’s core values, and do I practice and reinforce those values daily?
- Do I understand that trust is the outcome of principled behavior, and have I identified the behavioral weaknesses?
- Do I understand that trust cannot be delegated and that low trust is a real risk?
- Have I asked my employees and other stakeholders if they think I am trustworthy?
- Do I understand that trust is a learned competence, and have I budgeted for trust training for both my leadership team and my staff?
- Do I directly engage my employees and my customers in conversations about trust?
- Do I catch employees doing something right and reward ethical behavior?
- Does trust play a role in my hiring practices?
Now, how about you? Did you do the quiz? How did you score? Trust starts with the individual.