Let’s do the “Trust Pyramid” one last time. If there is to be trust between individuals, there must be confidence in each other’s character (who you are) and competence (what you can do). If there is to be trust within a team, there must be confidence in common direction (where we’re going) and mutual cooperation [...]
Archive for the ‘Trust in Church Leadership’ Category
Cooperation and Trust
Wednesday, August 11th, 2010 | No CommentsTo this point, we’ve been building the “Trust Pyramid” from the ground up. If there is to be trust between individuals, there needs to be confidence in each other’s character (who you are) and competence (what you can do). If there is to be trust within a team, an additional layer must be added: confidence [...]
Common Cause and Trust
Friday, August 6th, 2010 | No CommentsLet me tell you a story that illustrates what I fondly call “the Stiletto Principle.” Years ago, Julie and I invited a group over to the house for lunch following Sunday services. One of the women who ate with us was a tiny thing—100 pounds dripping wet! But she was wearing a pair of stiletto [...]
Character and Competence Matrix
Monday, August 2nd, 2010 | No CommentsBoth character and competence are necessary for trust in the context of church leadership and ministry. By placing these in a matrix, some observations about trust become clear. The matrix to the right displays “Character” and “Competence” ranging in strength from “High” to “Low.” This yields four possible positions on the matrix: High Character/High Competence [...]
Competence and Trust
Wednesday, July 28th, 2010 | No CommentsIn my experience, an absence or failure of character in church leaders is less a “trust problem” on a day-to-day basis than the assumption that character is all you need. Over and over again, I’ve seen churches set their trust-threshold at the most basic level (character) only to be disappointed by people who don’t have [...]
Character and Trust
Friday, July 23rd, 2010 | No CommentsAt the very heart of trust is the issue of character. Character is to trust what oxygen is to breathing. There is no level of trust possible without some level of confidence in the integrity, humility, honesty, and faithfulness of the person with whom we are in relationship. Character: features and traits that form the [...]
The Basics of Trust
Monday, July 19th, 2010 | No CommentsTrust: have confidence or faith in; reliance on the integrity, strength and ability of others based on past experience; believing in the honesty and reliability of others; confidence that a person or thing will not fail. “Trust” is related to the Old English word “treowe”—from which we get the word “true.” Trust, like love, is [...]
Building Trust in Church Leadership
Tuesday, July 13th, 2010 | No CommentsHe sat in my office and spoke in a flat monotone. “I don’t respect your leadership. I can’t abide your preaching. I don’t value your ministry. I don’t trust your character.” I was stunned. This was a man I’d brought on staff to serve as my partner and companion. I’d opened my heart to him, [...]
