The following contains excerpts from the book, Trust Works (Ken Blanchard, Cynthia Olmstead, Martha Lawrence).
This book sets forth four areas in which trust is either built on or sabotaged: Competence, Integrity, Care for Others, and Reliability. These are simplified as: Able, Believable, Connected, and Dependable.
At our music school in Midland, Texas we believe that music is more than sound, it is relationships When thinking about the subject of relationships, the subject of Leadership becomes important. In all successful relationships there must, of necessity, be a level of trust.
The book is based on a study by Cynthia Olmstead. She said, “It became evident to me that trust means different things to different people based on their experiences…clearly we needed a common framework…I realized that the behaviors fell into four main groups: Able (demonstrate competence), Believable (act with integrity), Connected (care about others), and Dependable (maintain credibility). Thus the ABCD Trust Model was born!”
The author begins the book using an allegory of animals that weren’t getting along well with each other. One day their owner declared that he would get rid of all of them if they didn’t start getting along. When the father of the (human) family was offered a new job in an inner city, it seemed it would be difficult to take all their pets with them. However, one eventful day, when their toddler wandered outside, heading straight for the swimming pool, the animals saved the day. They had to work together as a team to accomplish this rescue, which wouldn’t have been possible days earlier, since they weren’t getting along. The grateful family finally decided to take them along to the big city, even if it would be difficult, since the animals were so loved.
Using the story to highlight the ABCD model, the authors show the value of learning to trust one another in a team.
One of the most important things we help students at our music school in Midland, Texas do is to learn how to play together in ensembles as small as two people or in larger groups. This develops an understanding of empathy and teamwork as they learn to not only listen to themselves but to others around them.
The book, in each section, allows the reader to test himself on a 5-level scoring basis. Following are the Sections and Questions given:
ABLE
Demonstrate Competence and Skills
- Get quality results
- Solve problems
- Am highly skilled
- Am good at what I do
- Have relevant experience
- Use my skills to assist others
- Strive to be the best at what I do
As teachers at our music school in Midland, Texas we aspire to help our students gain the skills they need to be successful in any musical endeavor through training them in core competencies that have withstodd the test of time.
BELIEVABLE
Act with Integrity
- Keep confidences
- Admit when I am wrong
- Am honest
- Avoid talking behind people’s backs
- Am sincere
- Am nonjudgmental
- Show respect for others
CONNECTED
Care About Others
- Listen well
- Praise others’ efforts
- Show interest in others
- Share about myself
- Work well with others
- Show empathy for others
- Ask for input
Perhaps the greatest life-lesson that can be learned from studying music at our music school in Midland, Texas is the ability to listen. Listening is different than hearing, in that listening requires attentive focus.
DEPENDABLE
Maintain Reliability
- Do what I say I will do
- Am timely
- Am responsive to requests
- Am organized
- Am accountable for my actions
- Follow up
- Am consistent
The authors go through each section, discussing “Trust-Busters” and “Trust-Builders” offering behaviors that can effectively remedy ‘bad habits’ of trust-breaking interactions.
“The extent to which there’s an inconsistency between our actions and our behaviors is the degree to which other people will or won’t trust us. The winning formula is simple: Walk your talk.”
Rebuilding Damaged Trust
“If you are avoiding another person because you feel there is no safe way to communicate openly, you are probably experiencing damaged trust.”
A 5-step process to rebuild damaged trust:
Step One: Acknowledge and Assure
“Acknowledge that a problem exists and needs to be addressed…It is important to find out if your goal of rebuilding the relationship is mutual.”
Step Two: Admit
“Admit you part in causing the breach of trust…is a crucial step that should not be overlooked.”
Step Three: Apologize
“Apologize for your role in the situation. This takes humility…It’s important that your apology is sincere and that you feel authentic remorse.”
Step Four: Assess
“Invite feedback from the other party about how he or she sees the situation…the purpose of this step is not to point fingers, but rather to identify problem behaviors so they can be avoided in the future.”
Step Five: Agree
“Work together to create an action plan…you can mutually identify the Trust Boosters you’ll use going forward.”
In Leadership
“If you’re a leader, you can afford many kinds of mistakes, but the one thing you can’t afford is to lose trust.”
“The ability to build trust is the defining competency for leaders in the twenty-first century…With trust, creativity flourishes, productivity rises, barriers are overcome, and relationships deepen. Without it, people bail on relationships and leave organizations, cynicism reigns, progress grinds to a halt, and self-interest trumps the common good. For organizations to thrive, trust is not a nice-to-have; it’s a must-have.”
At our music school in Midland, Texas we endeavor to build trust with each student and family through our consistent, positive, interactions with them.
“Organizational trust is built on everyday actions.”
We find that the power of studying music in our music school in Midland, Texas is in learning how to successfully navigate relationships. Studying music has many life-lessons built into it, things like personal self-discipline, patience, focus, awareness of beauty, empathy, connecting emotionally, memory, etc.
But what, many times, goes unnoticed is music’s ability to help develop the capacity to work well with others. When playing together in ensembles, the student must foster an awareness of not only what he or she is producing, but also of the section and of the entire ensemble. Even more than that, a mature performer gains insight into the feel of the audience and an awareness of how to motivate them positively.
These skills are almost intuitive, but when applied to life-situations can become quite powerful. We view music as not only for music’s sake, but also for preparation in all aspects of life.