Trust and Inspire

How Truly great leaders unleash greatness in others

Shift your leadership paradigm from managing for compliance to leading for commitment. This Learnerd summary of “Trust and Inspire” by Stephen M.R. Covey provides the framework to move beyond the outdated ‘Command & Control’ model. Learn the 3 Stewardships—Modeling, Trusting, and Inspiring—to unlock the greatness in your team and create a culture of high performance and engagement.

1 Listen

2 Executive Summary Cheatsheet

trust and inspire vs command and control

Command & Control	Trust & Inspire
Compliance	Commitment
Transactional	Transformational
Efficiency	Effectiveness
Status Quo and Incrementalism	Change and Innovation
Fixed Mindset	Growth Mindset
Coordination among Functional Silos	Collaboration among Flexible, Interconnected Teams
Motivation	Inspiration
Manage People and Things	Manage Things, Lead People

2.1 The Fundamental Shift: From Command & Control to Trust & Inspire

The central argument of the book is that the traditional leadership style, “Command & Control,” is obsolete in the modern world. It was designed for an industrial era of efficiency and compliance. The new era requires a different approach: “Trust & Inspire.”

1. Command & Control (Outdated Model):
   • View of People: Sees people as resources or “things” to be controlled and managed. Assumes people can’t be trusted and need external motivation.
   • Goal: To manage people for compliance and conformity.
   • Methods: Micromanagement, rigid processes, hierarchies, carrots and sticks. It’s about containing potential.
2. Trust & Inspire (New Model):
   • View of People: Sees people as whole human beings (body, heart, mind, spirit) with inherent greatness and potential. Assumes people are creative, collaborative, and want to contribute.
   • Goal: To unleash people’s talent and potential to achieve greatness.
   • Methods: Stewardship, autonomy, connection to purpose. It’s about releasing potential.

The Trap of ‘Enlightened’ Command & Control

Many leaders think they’ve evolved by being “nicer” managers. They might say “please” and “thank you” but still operate from a Command & Control mindset. This is simply a more pleasant form of manipulation. The true shift isn’t about style; it’s about a fundamental change in how you see and believe in people.

2.2 The 3 Stewardships of a Trust & Inspire Leader

This is the core framework for putting the model into action. A stewardship is a responsibility to care for something.

1. Modeling (Who you are): You must be the credible example of the behavior you want to see. This is about your character and competence. You can’t inspire trust if you aren’t trustworthy yourself.
   • Behave in a way that is consistent with your values.
   • Demonstrate humility and courage.
   • Act with integrity and authenticity.
2. Trusting (How you lead): This is the active verb. It’s not about waiting for people to earn your trust; it’s about extending trust as the default.
   • Believe in people’s potential and their ability to figure things out.
   • Give people autonomy and ownership over their work.
   • Create “Stewardship Agreements” (defining outcomes) instead of micromanaging tasks.
3. Inspiring (Connecting to Why): This goes beyond external motivation. It’s about connecting people’s work to purpose, meaning, and contribution.
   • Connect the work to the organization’s purpose.
   • Connect the work to the individual’s personal “why.”
   • Help people see how their unique contribution matters.

How to Start Trusting: The Stewardship Agreement

Instead of a rigid job description, co-create a Stewardship Agreement.

1. Desired Outcome: Clearly define what success looks like. What is the end goal?

2. Guidelines: Define the principles and boundaries, not the specific steps. What are the rules of the road?

3. Resources: What support (budget, tools, people) is available?

4. Accountability: How and when will progress be measured and reported? Once this is set, get out of the way and let them own the “how.”

2.3 Other key ideas

The 5 Core Beliefs of a Trust & Inspire Leader

To make the shift, you must adopt these fundamental beliefs about people:

1. People are whole: They have a body, heart, mind, and spirit.

2. People have greatness inside them: Your job is to see it and help unleash it.

3. There is enough for everybody: Abundance mentality, not scarcity.

4. Leadership is stewardship: You are responsible for growing people, not just results.

5. The ultimate purpose of leadership is to empower others to lead in their own areas of responsibility.

From Motivation to Inspiration

The book draws a sharp contrast between these two concepts:

• Motivation is external. It’s about pushing someone with external factors (carrots and sticks). It’s a “have to” energy. It works on the hands, but not the heart or mind.
• Inspiration is internal. It’s about pulling someone with an internal desire. It’s a “want to” energy that comes from purpose, meaning, and contribution. It engages the whole person.

A Command & Control leader motivates. A Trust & Inspire leader inspires.

Who Do You Trust? The 4 Cores of Credibility

This concept, from Covey’s earlier work The Speed of Trust, is central to the “Modeling” stewardship. To be a trustworthy leader, you need:

1. Integrity (Character): Are you honest? Do you walk your talk?
2. Intent (Character): What is your motive? Do you genuinely care about others’ best interests?
3. Capabilities (Competence): Are you relevant? Do you have the skills and knowledge to succeed?
4. Results (Competence): What is your track record? Do you deliver on your promises?

2.4 Key Phrases to use

• “What’s your take on this?” (Inviting contribution)
• “I trust you.” (Extending trust)
• “Let’s focus on the desired outcome, and you own the ‘how’.”
• “My intent is…” (Modeling transparency)
• “How does this work connect to what matters most to you?” (Connecting to ‘why’)
• “Tell me more about how you see this playing out.”
• “What support do you need from me to be successful?”

3 Summary Video

4 Practise

The shift from Command & Control to Trust & Inspire starts with self-reflection.

1. Think of a recent situation where you managed someone for a task. Did you focus on the process (the “how”) or the outcome (the “what”)?

2. Now, re-imagine that interaction using the 3 Stewardships.

How would you Model the right behavior?

How could you explicitly Trust them with the task?

How could you Inspire them by connecting it to a larger purpose?

Let’s try an example below.

5 Learn More

• Get the book:

• Official Site