This morning I had a vivid dream. I was in Virginia getting ready to do a full-day leadership seminar at a large manufacturing plant. I had flown in the day before in order to be fresh in the morning. Before dinner, I went for a walk around their beautiful campus to absorb the atmosphere and get myself in the mood.
In the sunset light, I saw something metal in the leaves by the trail. Reaching down, I uncovered it and picked it up. It was a tiny metal lock. It was old and beat up and the hasp was closed. I put it in my pocket and walked on.
That lock haunted me during the night, so at the very start of the leadership seminar, I pulled it out of my pocket and held it up. I told the group of 35 leaders a story.
“Yesterday, by chance, I found this old beat-up lock on your grounds. I don’t know for sure, but by the looks of it, the lock may have been dropped by a soldier during the Civil War. Let’s assume it was.
Let’s visualize that the lock represents the energy that is within the people of your company. That energy is locked up tight, and it has been that way for a long, long time. If you scrape away the mud and move the cover, you will discover that the keyhole is still functional. All we need to do is find the key, and we can unlock the pent-up energy that resides in the hearts of your people.
Well folks, the good news is that I also found a key nearby the lock. I had to scrape off the corrosion using a wire brush. The key is TRUST. Let’s see if the key works.
Of course it does. Trust always works miracles in any organization.”
That was how I grabbed the attention of those 35 leaders. I went on to demonstrate the nature of trust, why it is the key to performance, how to obtain more of it, and how to repair damaged trust.
I woke up feeling great after this dream because I am doing what God put me on earth to do. I am discovering the incredible power of trust and helping others learn how to achieve it.
Bob Whipple, MBA, CPLP, is a consultant, trainer, speaker, and author in the areas of leadership and trust. He is the author of four books: 1.The Trust Factor: Advanced Leadership for Professionals (2003), 2. Understanding E-Body Language: Building Trust Online (2006), 3. Leading with Trust is Like Sailing Downwind (2009), and 4. Trust in Transition: Navigating Organizational Change (2014). In addition, he has authored over 600 articles and videos on various topics in leadership and trust. Bob has many years as a senior executive with a Fortune 500 Company and with non-profit organizations. For more information, or to bring Bob in to speak at your next event, contact him at http://www.Leadergrow.com, bwhipple@leadergrow.com or 585.392.7763