7/27/2016
1
“Envisions leadership as a system
comprised of leaders and followers in
relation to each other and to a shared
vision” - Magis & Duc, 2011
 Requires a lubricant and glue
 Neither addresses trust with a specific
tool nor is trust specifically called out in
the other tools

David Gassaway - EMERGEing Trust
7/27/2016
2
“A psychological state comprising the
intention to accept vulnerability and
based on positive expectations of the
intentions or behavior of another”
D.M. Rousseau et al (1988)

Benefits:
›
›
›
›
Lowers transaction costs
Binds inter-organizational relationships
Increases tempo and innovation
Diminishes need for legal apparatus
David Gassaway - EMERGEing Trust
7/27/2016
3

How does a Willamette Valley public
service executive in a leader-follower
relationship move the relationship’s state
of trust from one of conditional to
unconditional?
› How is the state of trust assessed?
› What actions can be taken to improve the
state of trust?
David Gassaway - EMERGEing Trust
7/27/2016
4
Literature Review
 Practitioner Interviews

› Willamette Valley Public Service Executives
› 2010 ExMPA Cohort Vietnam Learners
David Gassaway - EMERGEing Trust
7/27/2016
5
Unconditional Trust
Distrust
Stakeholder A
Trustworthiness
Intentionality
Prediction
Calculative
Values
Stakeholder C
Trustworthiness
Contextual Processes
Capability
Attitudes
Stakeholder B
Trustworthiness
Emotions
7/27/2016
Emotions
Actions > Barriers
 Pro-actively engage
 Be transparent
 Promote the shared
purpose
 Instill trust in the process
 Seek to understand roles
 Leverage social capital
 Pursue the recursive
process
Values
Conditional Trust
Relationship
Starting Point
Dimensions of
Trust
6
Do the leader and the follower:
 Define their respective roles broadly?
 Want to and feel morally responsible for
helping each other achieve the aims of
the vision?
 Irrespective of position title, display a
high confidence in each other?
David Gassaway - EMERGEing Trust
7/27/2016
7
Actively seek help from each other
without generating feelings of
indebtedness?
 Freely exchange information without
inhibition through transparency?
 Show a high involvement in the
endeavor, subjugating their personal
needs for the greater good of the vision?
 Create energy within the relationship
that is synergistic and self-generating?

David Gassaway - EMERGEing Trust
7/27/2016
8
Example: Freely exchange information
without inhibition through transparency?
 Pro-actively engage face-to-face,
extend and reciprocate trust
 Be authentic and encourage
authenticity in communications, creating
feedback loops and taking risks
 Be transparent in, and encourage
transparency of, agenda and motives
David Gassaway - EMERGEing Trust
7/27/2016
9
Leadership Journey
 Applicable to many EMERGE tools

› Convening Coalition Tool
› Contextual Intelligence
› Leadership Role Profile
› Norming Tool
David Gassaway - EMERGEing Trust
7/27/2016
10
“Conditional trust
is like fishing . . .
Unconditional trust
is like using
dynamite!”
-Rocky Houston, 2012
David Gassaway - EMERGEing Trust
7/27/2016
11