The Trusted Leader (Hardcover)

~ (Author), Anne Seibold Drapeau (Author) "THIS IS A TRUE STORY (with the usual disclaimer-only the names and circumstances have been changed)..." (more)
Key Phrases: trusted leadership, building personal trust, organizational trust, Disagree Agree Strongly, Disagree Strongly Neither Agree, Doug Baker (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Who do you trust at work and who trusts you? By inviting readers to answer these two questions, authors Galford and Drapeau get their arms around the slippery yet strategic dimension of trust in organizations. The Trusted Leader is grounded in their research and experience in executive development. The authors define three areas of trust, including strategic trust (assurance the organization is doing the right things), organizational trust (belief in the way things are being done), and personal trust (confidence between leader and employees). These ideas are illuminated through self-assessments and definitions of the competencies of a trusted leader. One standout chapter introduces the enemies of trusted leadership, from the big daddy syndrome and the revenging angel to the rainmaker/jerk. Another section details how defining events such as downsizing can build or break trust. The book would have been strengthened by a clearer explanation of how trust inside the organization translates into gaining the confidence of outside clients and customers. Still, in this era of headline-grabbing corporate trust-breakers, Galford and Drapeau define what it means to be trustworthy. In their capable hands, trust stops being an intangible noun and becomes an active verb. --Barbara Mackoff

From Publishers Weekly

With Wall Street teeming with questionable characters and their equally questionable practices, trust is a hot topic these days; Galford and Drapeau have perfect timing with their handbook for becoming an executive employees can actually put their faith in. A knitting-together of management theory, real-life anecdotes and snappy tools and self-assessment quizzes, the book tries gamely to be both authoritative and accessible. Its strongest section is a discussion of the "enemies of trusted leadership"-office archetypes ranging from power-hungry control freaks to underperforming slackers-who can undermine what a CEO is trying to achieve. The authors also share helpful tips on how leaders can handle brutal situations (e.g., mass layoffs) with the appropriate amount of class. Although at times weighed down with turgid writing and an overabundance of lists, the book succeeds in distilling what the authors readily admit is an "intangible:" the essence of great leadership.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Free Press; 1 edition (December 31, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743235398
• ISBN-13: 978-0743235396
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #779,539 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This one is good..., January 9, 2003

By	PAUL L. LYNCH (Spring, TX United States) - See all my reviews

This is one of the few business books that I actually wanted to read, not just scan. I wish this book had been around five years ago. Not only can I see myself in a lot of the examples, I can see many of my colleagues, too. It really hits home, in a good way. I took the self-assessment test at thetrustedleader.com, it's basically like what's in the book but it adds up the score for you. It would be interesting to compare scores before and after reading the book. I'm suggesting it to my colleagues for our internal programs and would recommend it to anyone.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Timely, Landmark Book for All Leaders, May 22, 2003

By	Professor Donald Mitchell "Jesus Makes Me a P... (Boston) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)

Would you like to work with and for people you trust? Would you like to have their trust in return? What level of trust do you have now in your colleagues and leaders? How does that make you feel? How would you like to feel at work, instead?

If you feel strongly about improving any of those dimensions of your work life, this is the best book I have seen on the subject for what leaders can do.

Trust is actually a little simpler than this book makes it seem. Most of us trust those who look out for our interests as well as their own, care about us, explain why they are doing whatever they are doing, and listen to our concerns. That point gets a little lost in the underbrush of analyzing trust, and how it is built, lost and reacquired from various organizational perspectives.

The book's strength comes in three areas. First, there's self-assessment in the beginning that I found very revealing about how well trust is being generated at work now. Second, the authors tackle many painful, difficult situations at work and discuss how they can be addressed in more constructive, trust-building ways (such as layoffs, surviving mergers, sudden departures of key people, teams that are failing, and emotionally out-of-control colleagues and bosses). Third, there are an impressive number of case histories that most readers will recognize as being similar to something that has happened in their own work places (like cheating to get bonuses, egomaniacs running amok, insensitive comments in public, resentment after promotions), and excellent discussions of principled ways to handle them.

The only way that this book could have been improved in what it addresses would have been by having quantitative expressions of how the participants in some of these situations reacted to what happened.

Any leader will benefit by reading these lessons and becoming more sensitive to the implications of their words, actions and inaction. I also suggest that leaders review relevant sections in the book whenever they see a touchy situation building, as well as just after having made a hash of some organizational situation for ideas to help remedy their mistakes.

If you are looking for how trust relates back out to nonorganizational stakeholders (such as customers, end users, suppliers, partners, lenders, stakeholders and the communities that the organization affects) those dimensions are mostly ignored except as isolated dimensions of some case histories (if the team is ineffective, the client usually notices and complains or gets a new supplier).

After you finish reviewing all of the interesting ideas for doing better here, think about what you can do tomorrow morning to start building more trust by trusting others more.

Donald Mitchell
Co-author of The 2,000 Percent Solution, The Irresistible Growth Enterprise and The Ultimate Competitive Advantage

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Right on Target, January 8, 2003

By	Richard Sherman (Massachusetts) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book makes a lot of sense, especially with all the corporate scandals going on these days. Not thinking about trust in your organization is like not thinking about the foundation of your house, things fall apart without it. Pick up any business magazine and you can see that without trust, success is elusive.

The authors take what might be a difficult topic to write about, and make it totally engaging and accessible. The real-life stories and examples give just the right frame of reference for the concepts of the book, not to mention being entertaining.

You get the feeling that the authors have been flies on the wall at your own company because they know exactly what's going on there. How many times have I heard promises like "the customers will love this" or "this time we've got it fixed" - just some of the promises they recommend avoiding if you can't keep them. And they seem to know the people you love to hate, like "Explosive Dan," who's the worst kind of poison. It makes you trust the authors (speaking of trust) because you know that they have experienced what you're going through; they're not just doling out theoretical advice you'd never use like a lot of other business books.

This is a must-read not only for anyone who leads, but also those who are led.