Trust

Does your team trust you? Do you trust them? Do they trust each other?

This week in my series on Lencioni’s 5 Dysfunctions of a Team, I will be looking at the foundation of Trust in teams and providing some ideas for building it.

Remote working has brought a range of challenges, many of which spawn from this fundamental issue. If we manage to successfully build trust in our team so many other pieces will fall into place.

But where do we start?

Treat employees well
Start by putting people at the centre of your corporate strategy. Value your employees as people rather than just producers of work. This starts with communicating with a human voice rather than jargon.

Be honest and clear
Major obstacles to building trust are dishonesty and lack of transparency from leadership. When information is not communicated honestly, clearly and in a timely manner, the void gets filled with speculation, gossip and free-floating anxiety. Even if you don’t have all the answers, communicate that too, show vulnerability and others will follow.

Model the way
Start with your own integrity and how that is communicated. This means, answering questions honestly and taking responsibility when mistakes happen.

Treat everyone equally
Ask team members to take responsibility for their own tasks which will create employee empowerment and make sure to praise them properly for a job well done.

Move away from the blame and shame style of management
Allow people to be vulnerable and human. If you allow people to own mistakes in a safe environment, you will save a lot of time and stress.

Check in
There is no need for a survey, ask your team members how they are doing, regularly. This interest and concern will over time encourage more vulnerability and trust.

Once you build a solid foundation of trust, you can move onto the other elements of Lencioni’s pyramid- dealing with conflict, commitment, accountability, and results.