May 31, 2006

May not be reprinted without the consent of Sue Miller

Contact: Sue@suemillerpresentations.com

WORKPLACE WISDOM NEWSLETTER

I want others to trust me!

Guess what! It's my choice!

I want to influence others!

I teach, train, coach, consult….and befriend and love.

There are reasons I want my influence to be felt.

I think they’re good ones.

?? I want to help people.

?? I want to encourage them.

?? I want to show them how to do something I already know how to do.

?? I want to guide them away from trouble if I see it ahead for them.

So, I present…and I speak…and I do my best to influence.

But…why do people TRUST ME? Why do people TRUST YOU?

Two factors must be in balance if we want to be trusted.

Our Character AND Our Competence

What is "our character"?

Kind - Mannerly - Honest - Thoughtful - Hard Working - Respectful -

Persevering - Understanding - Generous - Keeping your promises -

Considerate - Not maligning others - Following through - Being Fair

The list of character qualities is countless! We're never, ever finished working

on our character. We can always be more polite, more respectful, quicker to

keep our promises, more considerate, etc.

What is "competence"?

It is our distinct ability to carry out our "assignments".

It tells others how good we are at any given "assignment". When we are

highly competent, others find it easier to trust us.

We should always be working on these two.

We’re not trustworthy simply because we’re a “nice guy” or a “nice gal”.

(Good Character)

OR

We are not trustworthy simply because we’re “hot-shots” at our tasks.

(Highly Competent)

WE ARE TRUSTED BECAUSE WE HAVE BOTH IN BALANCE!

May 31, 2006

May not be reprinted without the consent of Sue Miller

Contact: Sue@suemillerpresentations.com

Here's an example of trying to make it through life using just one...or

the other:

An awesome brain surgeon repeatedly lies to his patients. (Lack of character)

A kind and generous brain surgeon repeatedly makes awful mistakes. (Lack

of competence)

We have trouble trusting either one of these professionals (but for different

reasons).

So, I encourage you to work - along with me - to keep

these in balance.

1. Work on our character.

We will NEVER BE THROUGH working on our character!

2. Work on our competence.

Continuously improve in your role - at work and at home!

Trustworthiness is something we all want.

Trustworthiness is earned.

Trustworthiness is up to you and up to me.

Somewhere in life, we must say:

“The buck stops here.

It is up to ME to be trustworthy. I know how to do it!”

Be extraordinarily trustworthy!

"One machine can do the work of fifty ordinary men.

No machine can do the work of one extraordinary man."

- Elbert Hubbard