Quotes on my Desk

December 30 2011, 12:00 pm | Blake Hudspeth

Whenever I come across a quote, idea or verse that captures my attention and impacts my way of thinking, it makes its way to my desk. Like most people, wisdom tends to leak out of my brain unless there’s a reminder right in front of me; so I put it on display in my office.  Because these sayings have deeply affected my leadership and personal walk, I’ve decided to post a few over the coming weeks.  Perhaps they’ll have the same impact on you. 

5 Commitments of Trust

(This particular idea of the “5 Trusts” is from Andy Stanley.)

Whenever you are leading people, whether it is in the context of a classroom, workplace, family, small group, etc., expectations are brought into the group (unfortunately, these expectations are sometimes left unspoken by the leader or group).  What usually tends to play out is that gaps are created between what people expect and what they experience.  The result is an erosion of trust.

This principle can be seen in something as simple as a curfew. The expectation for mom and dad is that little Blakey will be home at 10PM from the basketball game, but what they experience is little Blakey pulling in the driveway at 10:30 because he thought it was a good idea to chat it up a little longer with the ladies.  Suddenly there’s a gap created between what parents expect and what they experience, and the result is a lack of trust the next time little Blakey goes out. 

About a year ago, our student ministry staff read through “The 5 Dysfunctions of a Team” by Patrick Lencionni (if you’re a leader, buy it and read it).  In it, he claims that the foundational characteristic of an unhealthy team is defined by a lack of trust.  When you don’t trust your team, you won’t work well.  So, our team (Daniel Bollen, Andi Tedder, Hannah Troutz, and myself) agreed to do something that would build trust with one another.  We decided to commit ourselves to 5 principles that would protect trust within our team. 

Because we are human, no matter how well we lay out and communicate our expectations, at some point, we will create gaps in our team.  We will be late for a meeting, or drop the ball with a small group leader, or forget to contact a potential speaker.  And, when those gaps are created, here are the 5 commitments of trust we’ve made:

1. I will assume the best. (i.e.- you’re late because of traffic, and not because you overslept or don't care about our meeting)
2. When other people assume the worst about you, I will come to your defense.
3. If what I experience begins to erode my trust, I will come directly to you to talk about it.
4. When I am convinced I will not be able to deliver on a promise, I will come to you ahead of time.
5. When you confront me about the gaps I’ve created, I will tell you the truth.

Those commitments hang on our wall to remind us of how important it is to maintain trust.  They’ve saved us from a lot of drama.  I’d challenge you to think about using them.

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