Читать книгу Becoming an Invitational Leader - William W Purkey - Страница 29

Trust is defined as having confidence in the abilities and integrity of ourselves and others. Trust is critical to Invitational Leadership because it recognizes the interdependence of human beings. This interdependence is evident when we give a high priority to human welfare and when we have a willingness to trust one another. In Invitational Leadership, trust is a cooperative, collaborative activity where process is as important as product.

Trust is vital to human endeavor. Consider the many occupations, from fire fighters to military personnel, commercial airline pilots to medical staff, and mountain climbers to trapeze artists, who must have absolute trust in associates. Without trust, any progress would be extremely difficult. In fact, the level of trust is related to the creation of prosperity in a society. The importance of trust in a society is underscored by the words of American political scientist and political economist Francis Fukuyama:

One of the most important lessons we can learn from an examination of economic life is that a nation’s well-being, as well as its ability to compete, is conditioned by a single, pervasive cultural characteristic: the level of trust inherent in the society . . . The greatest economic efficiency was not necessarily achieved by rational self-interested individuals but rather by groups of individuals who, because of a pre-existing moral community, are able to work together effectively.