1. Jennifer Kaupke
EDA 534
February 10, 2010
Book Report: Trust Matters
“To be trusted is a greater compliment than to be loved”~ George MacDonald
Megan Tschannen-Moran used this quote as the introduction to the final chapter
of Trust Matters and it really captures the main feeling of this book. Trust Matters dives
into the concept of what trust is, how to build trust, the effects of a betrayal in trust and,
finally, how to become a trustworthy leader. Trust is a key component to being a
successful leader and is not something instantly granted when you are handed the keys to
a school; it must be earned and nurtured.
“Most people I know who are beginning principals enter their new roles as
advocates, friends, helpers, supporters, often former colleagues of teachers. By
December of their first year they have become adversaries, requirers, forcers, judges,
and setters of limits…building trust requires patience and planning, whereas novice
principals tend to have a ‘do it now’ attitude.” (pg 5) As a future leader, this is a very
powerful statement as it deals directly with the attitude of a new principal. The text
presents an interesting concept about planning to build trust. Trust seems to me to be a
natural thing; something that is innate in one’s moral code but this book suggests that a
new principal must be prepared with a plan for being trustworthy. Trust must be built on
many different levels within a school. A new leader must have a plan that will begin to
make the changes that need to be made without destroying the trust of students, parents,
2. teachers and staff. If stakeholders do not feel that changes are being made in a way that
is equitable and honest, the consequences of that broken trust are devastating.
“Trust is one’s willingness to be vulnerable to another based on the confidence
that the other is benevolent, honest, open, reliable and competent.” (pg 17) There are
several components to the text’s definition of trust and I feel it really embraces the
overall feeling that must be present to have trust. The word “competent” really stands out
for me in this definition. It is not enough to just be honest and benevolent; having a
leader who is competent in making decisions is critical. Having worked for a principal
who would make decisions on the spot and then often ended up changing the decision at
some point. I have also worked for a principal who, when asked a difficult question or
one that needed some thought, would respond by letting me know that they would look
into it and get back to me with a decision. Working for these two different types of
principals has proved exactly what this book says about the importance of competency as
well as consistency. As a future leader, I need to remember that it is ok to look into a
question further without giving a response immediately so that the decision can be correct
the first time. Having this approach is a key to maintaining trust among all stakeholders.
Three factors are defined in this text that influence the development of trust:
disposition to trust, values and attitudes, and moods and emotions. (pg 47) Each of these
factors is very important to consider when developing trust within a school. When
dealing with moods and emotions, the severity of a mood can really dictate whether or
not a person will be willing to be open to change. For example, if a teacher has a cynical
mood (feeling like nothing ever gets better so it is pointless to try) the development of
trust will be different than that of someone who has a mood of optimism. I believe it is
3. critical as a leader to get to know the people with whom you are associated and approach
each with concern for their moods and emotions.
Trust takes time to develop; it can take years to fully earn someone’s trust and
that trust can be broken in an instant. “Trust in relationships is dynamic, in that it can be
altered instantaneously with a comment, a betrayed confidence or a decision that violates
the sense of care one has expected of another. When a violation occurs, trust can be
shattered, leaving distrust and suspicion in its place.” (pg 63) The difficult part about a
betrayal of trust occurs when the betrayal is due to “a violation of personal principals or
organizational norms.” For example, a principal who has trust built with a staff member
may have to betray that trust because the staff member is putting a student in danger. As a
future leader, it is important to remember that not all betrayals are unethical or
inconsiderate.
“Professional learning communities share three important features: the adults in
them act and are treated as professionals, there is a focus on learning, and there is a
strong sense of community. For these three features to characterize a school’s culture,
trust is required.” (pg 107) A professional learning community is a very difficult, yet
vital, thing to build in a school. In my experience, the most difficult feature to build in a
school is the strong sense of community. The school where I am currently working has a
major focus on learning as well as adults that treat each other as professionals but there is
often a feeling that each teacher is on his or her own, rather than a sense working together
as community fighting for success. The current principal has been working hard at
correcting this, but the betrayal of trust from previous leadership is something that is
going to take time to repair. Teachers must also feel safe in expressing their thoughts or
4. ideas without fear of ridicule and with a focus on growth as professionals. There are
many ways a principal can foster these relationships within a school through working on
communication and collaboration practices.
The restoration of trust is a difficult and typically a very lengthy process. The
book suggests several steps to help restore broken trust: admitting a violation of trust,
apologizing and expressing regret for the behavior, asking for forgiveness, and amending
your ways. I feel that we often forget that last step, amending behavior. People often
find it fairly easy to admit they were wrong; they apologize and ask for forgiveness but if
the behavior is repeated again later, it is apparent that there was never any real regret for
the behavior. As a leader, it is critical that if you are offering up an apology and asking
for forgiveness, that the behavior is never repeated. A repetition of the same behavior
afterwards simply adds another layer of betrayal.
The text presents an interesting matrix for establishing trust as a leader that
addresses the five facets of trust (benevolence, honesty, openness, reliability, and
competence), the five constituencies of schools (administrators, teachers, students parents
and public) and finally the five functions of leadership (visioning, modeling, coaching,
managing and mediating). The last five were discussed in the final chapter of this book,
which addresses how to become a trustworthy leader in a school. “The principal sets the
tone for the school… it is the principal’s responsibility to build and sustain trusting
relationships.” (pg 175) The principal of a school must utilize the five functions in order
to build a trusting environment for all of the stakeholders. Although all of these five
functions are extremely important, I feel that the modeling function is one of the most
important. Often we see leaders tell others what to do and how to act but then they turn
5. around and do the opposite themselves. As a future leader, it is critical to lead by
example and to set the foundation for what is expected. The managing aspect also sticks
out in my mind. I believe it is critical that a leader builds leadership capacity in teachers
in order not to control everything themselves. While it is important to enable the teachers
at a school, it is also important that a principal maintains the management position.
Trust Matters provided many insights to the elements of trust and the implications
of broken trust. The book also provided many excellent examples of situations to
illustrate the key points. The presence of trust within a school is critical to maintaining a
safe and successful learning environment for the administrators, teachers, students and
the public. As a leader, it is important to develop a plan for building trust within the
community and then work diligently work to maintain that trust.
