Learning and growing as a school leader through reflection, training, and experience is a professional choice. One powerful way to improve is through reading great books, which is why we feature a couple each month. Our aim is to link our suggested reading to our theme for the month. This month we are completely focused on trust. Kudos to you for picking yourself to grow and improve.  

This month we chose to dive deep into the concept of trust and the one book that every school leader needs to read and read again is The Speed of Trust.

Featured Author: Stephen M.R. Covey

Featured Book: Speed of Trust: The One Thing that Changes Everything

Let us first say that we love this book and believe that should be on every leader’s desk. This is not a one time read but rather a book to refer to for guidance and inspiration. Some books deserve an annual read…this is one of them. You can also check out our blog on the topic of trust and our interview with Stephen M.R. Covey himself. 

An important aspect of the book for note taking and continual reference are the 13 Behaviors of a High Trust Leader. We love this chart from the University of North Texas Health Science Center because it crystallizes each behavior, what it is and is not. We particularly like the counterfeit column because it precisely describes the behavior of the individual who is not operating as a high trust leader. 

An additional element of the book that we discussed in our review was the final section. This part of the book deals with instilling and inspiring trust, which is desperately needed right now. Listening to fully understand people, what they’re experiencing, and gaining clarity on issues is crucial for leaders who want to inspire trust. This doesn’t mean that school leaders always have the answers to problems they’re willing to hear, but by understanding someone clearly, you are in a better position to make that determination. What you’ll often discover is that listening alone does help the situation. That said, if there is an opportunity to make a commitment and work toward a solution, then listening intently also provides a perfect opportunity to build trust by keeping and honoring the commitment. 

We always like to leave our audience with a #ReadThisSeries tip for readers, and this month we encourage leaders to read this book with your teams. Speed of Trust is not a book that school leaders should read alone. We encourage you to create a book study group and discuss the content and how to apply it with others.  

Let us know what you’re reading by contacting us at contact@dereka206.sg-host.com. And don’t miss our leadership newsletter every week by subscribing on the site. 

We can’t wait to hear from you. 

Joe & T.J.

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