We are born to thrive, we live by mending, the glue is Trust. The inevitable in life is something will crack the husk of our lives and from the pain of brokenness will proceed something new growing from the seed which is life. Life will find a way but not without trust adhesive to connect us and our communities back together.

 
As a therapist and leader one of the core concepts that informs the acceleration of innovative and creative work with people and communities is Trust. We run or crawl by the speed of trust which can decelerate our accelerate our best efforts. High trust can accelerate productivity and drive down costs whereas low trust can decelerate productivity and increase costs. Trust is core to life finding a way.

Peter Drucker once said, “Culture eats execution for breakfast.”The culture we build in our organizations and communities, resting on trust, is more probable to develop those transformational ensembles that exceed what we could imagine alone. Trust defined as “confidence born of the character and the competence of a person or an organization” (Stephen M.R. Covey) invites a different way of seeing life. One without the other is incomplete. Add to this capabilities and results and the ensemble is complete that inspires high octane trust.

My new friend Jim Cochrane might use the word “spirit” which captures more broadly the bent of trust. The web of the leading causes seems to be intertwined with trust as a core adhesive to this jazz ensemble. The improvisation takes on many forms wherever life is finding a way.

Steve

By LCL Fellow, Steve Scoggin


The attached photo is of Pritchard Park in Asheville, NC where every Friday evening the community gathers for the Asheville Drum Circle. I had the privilege of participating in this life giving event this past Friday while visiting Asheville.

In this tiny spot at the center of downtown the community gathers to let the beat of drums and percussion instruments penetrate the soul inviting the body to shake out the rigors of the work week. Young, old, gay, straight and all the colors of the rainbow gather to celebrate life. There is no leader, just the rhythm moving different speeds and cadences taking on a life of its own. There is an energy, coherence, and sense of unity as the drums beat and the song finds its own beginning and ending. The seeming chaos has a beauty and order to it as one drum session ends and another emerges from the crowd of drummers. The square is a petri dish of life as the sounds unite mind, body and soul in a community rite.