The Thermostat Season 2 Ep 15 – “Trust the Process” Revealed

Trust the Process

 

We’ve all heard the phrase “Trust the Process” millions of times from leaders across industries. The phrase is so familiar to us, but why is it so difficult for humans to actually “Trust the Process”?  If you’re in the middle of a process right now as a follower or you are attempting to lead others through a process of change, you’ll want to remember these human realities.

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SHOW NOTES

0:49 – “Trust the process”, you have heard that statement millions of times. Is it really that easy, and why do we hesitate to “trust the process?” Jason explains all about why we challenge leadership and do not always trust the process.

2:54 – Let’s break it down. One of the first things that people have an issue with is the very first word, Trust. Trust doesn’t just magically happen. Trust is bartered every single day with the people around us. We don’t always know what we are getting. The trust market is volatile. The trust value is accrued over time based on small barters over the long haul.

4:32 – Relationships are a great example of the trust-barter process. We give small bits out to test the market and see if it is viable. We will barter some trust to give people a chance and over time we evaluate the behavior to see if that trust is worth more.

5:11 – To just say, “trust the process” is difficult because we have to give a lot on our side to loan out trust to our leaders who often have not earned that trust from us fully. We may not trust the messenger or the person at the front. If you are engaging with a person who says, “trust the process” and you don’t fully trust that person it is hard for you to engage in the process. If you are the leader that is trying to get others to trust your process then you have an opportunity to build trust with those people now.

6:35The second part of that process is that trust is often derived from our understanding of the plan. We have to understand in good faith what the actual process is. If we don’t understand the game plan then we shouldn’t just blindly trust the process even if we trust the messenger. We need to understand the high-level approach and hopefully have built enough trust in the leader to trust to activate the plan.

8:40 – Lastly, the main reason why people don’t have trust is that the process itself will take time. The reality is that the process takes time. So we must be willing to be patient and give the process time to work. The reality is we live in a fast-food world, a fast-paced world that makes it frustrating to wait. People are often uncomfortable to give the time that it takes to win it. It takes discipline to lead the change that we need.

11:05 – Just as it takes time to bake a cake or to plant a garden. Jason shares some metaphors and examples that take time to cultivate the process. The process of leading change takes time and we can’t skip a step.

14:05 – Closing thoughts and summary about the podcast and trusting the process.

14:45 – Questions to ponder, step back and ask during these times:

  1. What process are you in right now in your life and work?
  2. Do you trust the process? 
  3. Do you trust the messenger?
  4. What is needed for you to trust the process?

Remember, everything takes time if you don’t trust then there maybe a reason, maybe it’s you or you don’t understand the game plan or you need to bring more descipline to that. It maybe that you don’t trust the leader or maybe you need to dive into learning and understand the game plan in more detail. The process takes time, the trust that we build as leaders is critical. The way we articulate the plan and then our discipline to follow that plan with action is what helps us not only trust the process but ultimately lead to results. Whereever you are right now in your life and your work take the step you need and dive into the process!

If you like the podcast, have a question, or just want to share your thoughts for about daring to begin please leave a comment below.

ABOUT THE THERMOSTAT

Conversations and micro-thoughts to engage your mind and heart.

A thermostat is proactive. It sets the temperature in a room. Controls the temperature. Regulates the temperature. But in today’s distracted, fast-paced and digital world, it’s easy for individuals and organizations to act more like thermometers, slipping into reactionary thinking, becoming scattered and inconsistent. The most compelling leaders, teams, organizations, families or collection of humans of any kind operate in thermostat mode. They calibrate their mind and heart to set the temperature for the vision and culture they want to create. Jason Barger, globally celebrated author, keynote speaker and founder of Step Back Leadership Consulting, is the host of The Thermostat, a podcast journey to discover authentic leadership, create compelling cultures and find clarity of mission, vision, and values.

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