Category: Book Summaries

How Fast Can You Build a Team?

Speed of Trust

Latin Proverb:  It is equally an error to trust all men or no man.

In my post from a week ago, we learned how King David and Jesus built strong teams.  While those examples can be intimidating to folks like you and me, we were encouraged by Patrick Lencioni’s advice to “start by building trust.”

Over the past few years at NASA, we’ve used the FranklinCovey group to provide leadership training on “Leading at the Speed of Trust.”  Based on Stephen M. R. Covey’s 2006 best-seller The Speed of Trust, their approach contends that trust is the one thing that changes everything.  Covey notes that when trust goes up, speed improves, and costs of doing business goes down.  He also notes that to build trust, we must first start with ourselves.  That’s why I like to point out that our most powerful leadership tool is a mirror (see the September 21, 2013 blog post for more on that).  It is particularly challenging to build trust with others in an environment where only one-third of Americans believe that other people can be trusted…

Today, let’s explore how we can inspire trust:  first by starting with our own credibility then by employing 13 behaviors to build trust with others.

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The 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace

Book Cover

Just 3 months ago, I was finishing a 9-month developmental assignment as a front-line leader in the Johnson Space Center’s Engineering Directorate.  While working with the leaders in one particular organization, we determined a “retreat” was needed.  Now, a retreat is normally considered a time away from normal activities, often devoted to reflection.  I argued that we should instead pursue an “advance”, which Webster describes as “to move forward; to make progress; and to continue in a process of development.”

Whatever term we used, we wanted to build a stronger team, create a more positive work environment, and build a culture of appreciation throughout the organization.  To accomplish those goals, we turned to The 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace by Gary Chapman and Paul White.

I thought this book would be a perfect fit because just a few weeks earlier, I picked it up from our local library and was impressed with their structure as well as the book’s “Motivating By Appreciation” (MBA) self-assessment.  So, we agreed to give it a shot.

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