Organizational Trust: The Principle of Alignment 12/112/17

Organizational Trust: The Principle of Alignment* Covey's description of organizational trust reads like an explanation of the principals of Mission Command. In the business world "alignment" means that all elements of the organization are goal focused, in the Army we say with the mission or the commander's intent. High-trust organizations: share information openly, tolerate mistakes as a way of learning, seek innovation and creativity, talk straight and confront real issues, reward candid and authentic communication and hold themselves/others accountable for results. People who are part of high-trust organizations love their work and are proud to tell you about it. The book has a self-test that helps you assess if your organization as high or low trust. Low trust organizations pay a "tax" on all they do (Clausewitz might have called this added fog or friction), but high trust organizations increase in value, accelerate growth, enhance innovation, improve collaboration, strengthen partnerships, execute better and get heightened loyalty. As you can tell, many of these principals are essentially identical to the ones we say we follow in the Army but (to adapt a phrase) all leadership is local. We all have the opportunity/responsibility to build trust since all of us are part of different circles of influence and the principals of alignment apply to all of these contexts; unit, family, church, softball team, etc. The power of a team is truly greater than the sum of its parts and the principal of alignment harnesses the power of teams.