Moving from Command and Control to Trust and Inspire: A Masterclass By Stephen M. R. Covey

I had the opportunity to attend a Masterclass by Stephen M. R. Covey on his latest book Trust and Inspire. In his masterclass on Trust & Inspire, Stephen argues that the old model of Command & Control leadership is no longer effective in today's world. He proposes a new model of Trust & Inspire leadership, which is based on the principles of trust, authenticity, and inspiration. Attending the Masterclass in person, I strongly felt for the topic and reached out to Stephen to do a one-on-one conversation to dig deeper. In addition, as a bonus I was able to also get some great talk time with Gautam Ganglani the CEO for Right Selection Global Thought Leadership who is responsible for getting Stephen M. R. Covey and many other great leaders to India to motivate and inspire leadership and more. So let’s dive in directly to the conversation to get inspired…

Nasir Shaikh: Stephen, what inspired you to write this book?

Stephen M.R. Covey: This literally has been an idea I've had for the last decade, and it came from when I went out on presentations with my father before he passed away (2012). He would always ask the audiences two questions and these would be big audiences, could be 500 people in the room representing all kinds of different industries as CEOs and senior leaders. He would ask, “How many of you believe that the vast majority of your workforce has far more talent, creativity, innovation, initiative and capability than their current job either requires or even allows them to contribute?” Almost every hand in the room would go up. People were basically saying, “Our people have a lot more capacity than they're giving.” The second question would be, “How many of you are under more pressure than ever before to get more done with less resources? And almost every hand would go up. So, here's this irony. People were under greater pressure than ever before to do more with less, and yet people have so much more to give which they are not being able to give or even allowed to give.

So, what’s wrong with this picture? I got thinking, this is a leadership issue. We're not tapping into the capabilities and the talents of the people. There's much more they can give and we need to lead in a better way that unleashes that greatness, the talent, capability, the potential of people than what we're doing. We've got to lead in a new way.

So, the idea came from that time with my father over a period when we were doing these sessions together. Over the last decade, I have been thinking about it and working on it. Everything accelerated after the pandemic too, because now the workplace has changed but it's been on my mind for over a decade now. ?

?Nasir Shaikh: Stephen, it is always difficult to kind of come out of our shadows and step into the position of a leader. In your case, you were carving your own niche and your own positioning after having a legend of a dad. So, what were your experiences in creating that space which is yours? Could you talk to us about your journey?

Stephen M.R. Covey: I am an extremely proud son and am thankful for the same. It’s given me the sense of confidence and belief to follow in my father's footsteps and those are big shoes to fill in. The fact is that I felt very proud of him and I felt a sense of stewardship.

However, the key for me to be able to do this and carve my own identity was finding my sense of purpose and my ‘WHY’. For me, that was ‘Trust’.?I felt like trust was being so vastly undervalued in our society, in our businesses and organizations. While everyone says, “Yes, of course we value trust,” we are not doing nearly enough about it.

Once I found my voice around that, my purpose has been to increase trust in our world and have felt nothing but excitement to build upon my father's work and his thinking. I felt like I have a unique contribution to make that is distinctive to me and part of my mission, part of my sense of calling. Once my calling became clear to me, it gave me confidence to carve out my own identity as opposed to operating out of fear. So, the key was finding my ‘WHY’. I think that it's so simple, but it's also so large. It’s kind of so important that everybody understands their purpose in life.

?Nasir Shaikh: In your master class, you spoke about the need for a paradigm shift from command & control to trust & inspire. While a lot of leaders start their journey making the paradigm shift, they go back to their ‘native tongue’ or old ways when the going gets tough. Are there any insights which will help young leaders to continue their journey of inspire & trust?

Stephen M.R. Covey: This is a real challenge for all of us. The more all of us leaders recognize that we are on a journey, and it is a journey we never quite fully arrive at, we become self-aware that we're not perfect and we become self-aware of situations or certain triggers where we might revert back to a command & control situation. Becoming aware of that is important because sometimes people are just not aware, it just happens. An example I gave in session was about being patient with my kids while at the airport. Now that I'm aware of my triggers, I'm not going back to the command & control situation nearly as often because I'm aware that I have a tendency to go back to it and now I'm choosing otherwise.

I think it starts with awareness and an understanding of being on a journey and none of us being perfect on that journey. We're just trying to get better and better and then finally I think if we add on certain rituals that we could do to go back to the kind of aspirational leaders we would like to be, the trust & inspire leader. And for me, for example, I always make sure I focus on my mantra seeking to bless, not to impress. I keep my head into service and contribution and not into self-interest. That's something I remind myself of all the time during every presentation. I have some rituals and things I do routinely to try to keep me on the path of trust & inspire.

I think it’s a combination of, first, understanding that none of us are perfect, we're on a journey. Second, becoming very self-aware of situations, relationships, events, triggers that might move us back to our native tongue.

People can discover rituals or things they can do to act upon their self-awareness and say, “I'm going to take steps to try to stay in my acquired tongue and not go back to my native tongue.” It is always about awareness and choice. When we choose to say, I am choosing to be trust & inspire, I have rescripted myself and I am more energized by this approach.

Nasir Shaikh: Stephen, at your master class you quoted a lot of your contemporaries and peers like Jim Collins and what he has written in his book, ‘Good to Great’. You also quoted Marshall Goldsmith. So, you bought a lot of leaders onto the platform without them being there. What within you intrinsically allows you to bring them onto the table and share their knowledge out there because a lot of people would feel secure in quoting their contemporaries?

Stephen M.R. Covey: Well, for me, I try to follow the fundamental belief that I describe in my masterclass that I believe there is enough for everyone. That's an abundance mentality. It's not easy, but I really come back to that belief. The fact that Marshall Goldsmith has a brilliant idea doesn't take away anything from me. Saying this is Marshall's idea and I'm building upon it can add value to everybody who brings in Marshall or brings in Jim Collins. And yet, I am also bringing my insight into their insight so it is an additive for everyone but I think it flows out of trying my best to have an abundance mentality.

I acknowledge that sometimes you think, well, if someone else is getting the credit, then there's less for me, but that's a scarcity mindset. So, I constantly come back to saying, “Stephen, do you really believe in abundance?” And I answered it, “Yes, I do.”

I also think it is a matter of integrity. If the idea originated somewhere else, or the expression you are using is coming from someone else, to me, as a matter of principle, it flows out of trying your best to have an abundance mindset.

Nasir Shaikh: Fantastic. This is such a great example and reflection of what you write in the book. You are kind of living the book when you do this.

Nasir Shaikh: Gautam, you are the author of an outstanding book called ‘Breaking Bread’. Would you want to talk a little bit about it and why is it so important to find that connection, to find that point where you are sometimes breaking that tension or you're breaking that point of conflict to come together?

Gautam Ganglani: For me, our business is very much focused in the Gulf and the Indian subcontinent. I share this from the context that the Gulf and India are very much about family and food. Both are omnipresent in our lives, both personally and professionally. To me, hence, our business over the last 30 years has been built based on meaningful conversations with wonderful people. And that's what Breaking Bread is about, where you break down barriers, you resolve conflicts, you build rapport, because you put relationships first, business second, profit third.

Nasir Shaikh: Gautam, what inspired you to create this eco-system of getting renowned speakers to multiple audiences?

Gautam Ganglani: First and foremost, it's a family business passed on by my father, because my dad inculcated the value of learning from a young age. He always told me that education doesn't stop at any time in our lives. It goes way beyond school, university. Learning is a lifetime journey and, in that context, entering into this business where we could work with some of the best regional and global thought leaders gave me the privilege to be in a business which is more of a passion and a hobby. opportunity to come together and learn and share and network with what I call like-minded, like-hearted people.

I went through a very difficult childhood in my teenage years and I asked my dad, “how do I resolve this difficult scenario of bullying, teasing, and being humiliated in this difficult situation?” He said, “Son, two things are constant in life, no matter what age, no matter where you live, no matter how much wealth you accumulate – they are changes and challenges. Those are going to be constant for the rest of your life.” He advised me, “Surround yourself with the right people, continuously learn and take action.”