This is NOT a book about the importance of trust. Building Trust is about HOW TO BUILD TRUST and maintain it. Very little of the materials on trust are practical and helpful. Of the thousands of pieces of writing on the topic of trust, almost none of them "Here's a step-by-step method for building trust - inter-personally and organizationally." Building Trust will tell Practical steps to improve trust. What you may be doing that's not helpful and why. What you may have believed about trust-building that won't really produce trust in the long haul. Ways to clean up broken or fractured trust.
This book is PHENOMENAL! As a new team leader this year, I want to make sure that I can help establish a trusting environment for my team and this book lays out how exactly to do it. Bracey knows what he's talking about because he first did all the wrong things before discovering the right way.
One of my favorite parts was when he dealt with giving feedback. After walking through the process of giving feedback in a way that would strengthen trust, he then walks you through guiding someone who hasn't been trained in his methods to give you feedback in an appropriate way. While it probably should be obvious that you can't assume everyone has read the same book or received the same training, I appreciated that he acknowledged how to deal with a situation that could easily worsen trust between people if neither person is properly prepared.
As I read, there were so many "Aha!" moments that I know will stay with me. I know now what my role is and while I won't give away his process, I will say that it should be no shock that walking the walk is really the only way to go about it. I HIGHLY recommend this book for anyone in any situation looking to build trust. Bracey truly gives you the tools necessary to do it, even if trust has been broken.
I picked up this book because I was looking for what I thought would be an easy read. It was an easy and quick read but I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was SO much more. This book is phenomenal and should be read by anyone and everyone in management or a leadership position. This book is an excellent step by step guide for building and maintaining trust with many realistic and helpful examples. In fact, my intention this year has been to read books collecting dust on my shelves that I acquired years ago and then donate them to the library. This book is actually going right back on my shelf as it will undoubtedly be read again. GREAT book!!
Yes, it is a good book, in the style of a Steven Covey or Dale Carnegie. One sentence in Chapter One that I couldn't get past: "if you don't have the same values, are not working towards the same goal, then it is not going to work, go and find some-one else to build trust with." Well, that's it for me. People like that are as scarce as hen's teeth. Good to know!
Fantastic straightforward actionable guidance on how to build and maintain trust!
Loved the structured mental models offered in this book and the simple and straightforward guidance provided. I wonder why this is not discussed regularly in the corporate world.