Trust: the glue that keeps your team together
Trust is the basis of every collaboration and therefore, the basis of every team. Trust is the bottom step of the pyramid of the five dysfunctions of a team of Patrick Lencioni. Whenever I join a new team, the foundation of trust is the first I investigate. Does the team trust me to be their Scrum Master? How did I join the team? But also, do the individual team members trust each other, and on what is that trust based?
Trust is the foundation of real teamwork (and there is nothing touchy-feeling about this). — Patrick Lencioni
In this article, I will dive in the subject of trust, what it is, why it is important and also what makes it so difficult a subject. This article is written on my own experience, so don’t expect it to be perfect and complete. If you have any comments or additions, feel free to reach out!
What is trust
Trust starts with believing that a certain agreement between you and your colleagues will be met. It is strong when you believe your colleagues always act in what they believe is the best way in order to achieve the goal you and your team set out to achieve. Trust is the honest believe that, if something goes wrong, there is no one to blame — it just didn’t work out as we expected.
Trust is believing that a colleague can take care of himself, is equipped to do the task he set out to do and it is also feeling the safety to speak up if that turns out to be unachievable. Trust is also the wall of safety around you that whatever happens outside, on the inside you speak truth and can discuss any topic you want.
Trust is the firm believe in the integrity, ability or character of a person or thing. Since it is your believe, it is also difficult to change. We’re talking feelings here, and how do you influence those? There are usually a number of factors and it is impossible for you to control them all. Fortunately, there are some things you can do.
The two ingredients to growing trust
Ok, let’s start with the tough news: however you look at it, growing trust needs courage. There is no easy path, no shortcut or action list, building trust is only possible if you have courage. The courage to set the example, trust your colleagues and discuss the difficult subjects. If you do not feel safe enough to open up, you will never get your colleagues there, so that is the first problem you should tackle. Investigate for yourself, what makes you feel unsafe or not speak up?
In Dutch there is a saying: trust comes on foot, and leaves by horse. This means that trust is easily lost (leaves quickly on a horse) and very difficult to attain. So especially in environments where trust has been damaged before, it will take a lot of time and energy to build trust. This is not something you can change overnight, you are in it for the long haul, or you might just quit right now.
Where to start
Trust is the foundation on which you can build the rest of the team. The way trust is built in the team, is by getting to know each other personally. If you know what drives a person, your trust in them increases, because you know more about the why behind their actions.
So, activities like team building and informal meetups can increase trust. However, I can also see this as a challenge. Not every colleague can be tempted to join the team for drinks after hours and it might be virtually impossible to find an activity everyone likes to bond over. However, there are three other things which you can also do to improve trust.
First of all, you should be the example you’d like to have in your team. If you start to consciously trusting your colleagues, you set an example for the rest of the team. This also means having the courage to be vulnerable in front of the team and show your weaknesses. Show the team that you’re not perfect either. Be open about your own insecurities and mistakes.
In setting an example, you should also create a safe environment where mistakes can be made. Trust your teammate to always act in the best of their ability, and that mistakes are human and part of the job. Especially if someone has the courage to step forward to admit their mistake, know that it is not your or your team’s role to place blame, but to solve problems together.
The third thing you can do is to discuss trust issues within the team. If someone is blamed, picked upon or a colleague does not want to step forward to discuss a tough issue. Start asking questions about why this colleague is afraid to give feedback or trust their colleagues. When you completely trust your colleagues, also the matter of trust itself can be openly debated without pointing fingers or placing blame.
Closure
In this article I have investigated trust. A difficult and broad subject, I still feel it is challenging to build trust in a team, although I see it as the foundation of the way teams work together. How do you work on trust within your team? Is it a safe environment, or do you feel you can’t discuss everything? Do you agree with Lencioni’s statement that trust is the foundation of the team? Let me know in the comments!
