Commitment to Change LO7857

Matthew J. Lubic (matthew.j.lubic@boeing.com)
11 Jun 1996 21:02:08 -0700

Replying to LO7832 --

REF: LO7832/LO7821 Harvard Business Review report on trust and cynicism--

I'm an hourly employee in a large aerospace corporation; a flightline
aircraft mechanic to be more precise. I've also served for seven years as
(hate this 60's term) a "change agent" working to stand our company's
culture on its head.

I can vouch for the accuracy of the HBR's numbers in a general sense, but
be aware reality is whatever one makes of it. Within my own organization,
trust between the hourlies and our supervisors is critically low when it
comes to dealing with business practices, direction, insight, leadership
capabilities, and so forth. It's at the top of the flag pole when the
issue is this week's playoffs between the Seattle Sonics and the Chicago
Bulls.

What I'm saying is, levels of trust between individuals is relationally
dependant on context AND content. It isn't black and white. I can trust
your intentions regarding your effort to help me fix a broken airplane,
but I won't trust you any further than I can throw you and your desk
regarding your efforts to help me learn a "better" way to do my job (maybe
all you want is to eliminate it or hand it off to a lower pay skill).

I've been urging all my colleagues to read Peter B. Vaill's "Learning as a
Way of Being" ISBN 0-7879-0246-2.

Check it out. It's worth a read and provides insights into the phenomenon
we call "trust".

"We judge ourselves by our "Namaste"
intentions. We judge others Matthew J. Lubic
by what they do." R-3450 (206) 655-1863/982-3690
--ART KLEINER 14-AF

-- 

"Matthew J. Lubic" <matthew.j.lubic@boeing.com>

Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>