Trust and Inspire by Stephen M.R.Covey- Pub. 2022, Simon and Schuster Paperbacks

Review by Cheri Williams-11.1.24

                                                                                                                        The historical leadership structure is  a culture of competition, blind loyalty to the leadership,  and rising up the ladder to a position of authority which is not the style of leadership the new generation is craving. The natural world has changed the workplace and the people in it, and it’s time for a new form of leadership- The “Trust and Inspire “ structure of leadership can replace the old structure of “Command and Control”. In the three stewardships of Trust and Inspire, Modeling is the leaders credibility and moral authority, Trusting is how you lead and gain trust and grow the people around you, and Inspiring is the how we connect to those around us and the Why behind the actions and purpose. 

General premise of Trust and Inspire is the idea that individuals all have the greatness within them and with the correct form of leadership can be drawn out to produce change within themselves and the community they affect. Stephen covey conveys, “Don’t treat the people according to their behavior; treat them according to their potential through the model of - Communicate-Develop- Unleash. Command and Control leaders often lead with unhealthy competition and contention between the employees, allowing complaining, comparing and criticizing.  Stephen Covey outlines the difference between Command and Control Leadership vs. Trust and Inspire leadership in the core beliefs of each and the behaviors that follow . He also goes into detail regarding the 5 barriers that leaders have to this “new “ style of leadership, the fears and unbelief’s that accompany the barriers. The book is wrapped up with a chapter on how this leadership mindset can flow into parenting, teaching, coaching and more.

     This could be a great resource for anyone in leadership. If you have people around you who depend on you, then this resource could be a successful approach to positive conversations leading to forward facing action. The ability to use trust and inspire concepts with co-workers, offspring, clients, and friends would be beneficial for both parties involved and create so much less co-dependency and disappointment within these relationships.

     There is a general positive feeling when reading this book. I Definitely some ah ha moments and wow, I can be challenged by this mindset in so many areas with those I lead and leading myself-specifically how to build a culture of trust and how to use inspiration, rather than motivation, manipulation or even competition.

     I highly recommend this book to anyone who has been leading for years and finding poor results, lack of trust with their people or a staleness due to their current leadership technique. This book may challenge your current mindset of leadership and the behaviors that you take on as a leader. I would also recommend this book to anyone in a mentoring, coaching or modeling relationship who has the desire to learn and grow in the way they build trust and inspire others.

“A  Humble person is more concerned about what is right than about being right or about acting on good ideas rather than having the ideas, and about recognizing contribution rather than being recognized for making it.”

Trusting acknowledges that the life and power is in the seed, not the gardener. – this hit home!