Trust in teams
In the brilliant book Teams that Work by Eduardo Salas and Scott Tannenbaum, the writers explore the nuances and solid science on precisely what makes teams work effectively. One of the key components the writers highlight is that of trust. While some leaders will argue that trust is of course always nice when we go to work, the authors provide solid scientific evidence that trust is not “just nice to have” but indeed a business imperative that can directly impact your bottom line.
Does trusting the team leader matter? Jip it sure does. Those individuals who can trust their leader oftentimes go beyond what is expected from them. That is massive!
When it comes to how a team performs and operates, trust is a key element of success. But how do we form trust, and why do we believe that a person is trustworthy?
The authors show us the meta-analysis evidence from the Mayer study, which boils down to three key questions or beliefs we hold when we make a judgement call on whether we can trust someone (my team members or my leader):
Do I believe that the person I am supposed to trust has the ability to do what they said they would be doing? So in other words do they come across as capable?
Do I believe that the person I am supposed to trust wants to do what is best for me?
Do I believe that the person I am supposed to trust has an acceptable set of principles and values? We are dealing with integrity here.
(This often happens subconsciously).
We learn how and whether to trust others through our life experiences. Psychologist refers to a “trust propensity”. Meaning no matter in what setting I am finding myself I use the same lens to look at others, but I also look at new evidence if I can trust a person or not. We always use a filter based on our past experiences to trust someone. This has huge implications, we need to dig very deep to understand our own and others' mechanisms for trust. Did something happen before that made you mistrust your leader? Did you have a horrible micro-manager? Did you have a toxic work environment? Did you have a toxic team member before? Those all can impact the current team dynamics unless we actively address them.
Here is the gold nugget - you can not make someone else trust you, but, and this is a big but, you can act and behave in certain ways that make you more trustworthy to other team members. It is not your job to be a people pleaser, but it is your job to be a conscious team member to others.
The authors provide us with some tips and tricks around this:
Do people seek your input? Voice their concerns to you? If they do they most likely also trust you. If they dont, it normally is a telltale sign that you are acting in a non-trustworthy way and might need to dig a bit deeper to find out why this is the case?
Use the “how might I be perceived” or “put myself in their shoes” principle in your dealings. How might others perceive me right now? Am I acting in a trustworthy way? Check in with yourself.
Dont make promises and commitments you can't keep. Do what you say you will do. Keep your word, even and especially the micro-commitments. “I will send you an email later today around that request you had”. When you dont send that email - even if you consider it really not that important, is teaching others you can't be trusted with even the simplest micro-task. We often dont do this deliberately, as we dont think about how others might perceive the decisions that I am making.
Own up when you make a mistake and take full responsibility.
If you are especially a leader - know that “trust but verify” does not build trust. You can't ask for something and then go and double-check if the facts are correct. That is a recipe for mistrust.
Selfish people are seldom perceived as trustworthy. Show others that you also take them into consideration when making decisions (Salas and Tannenbaum).
In my own work and world, and especially when I conduct strategic facilitation to groups, I can attest that when teams display dysfunctionality, trust or rather mistrust is often one of the key factors that are busy influencing the team dynamics. I am also often requested that “we can simply do an offsite or go away somewhere, and that should sort it out and fix things.” I am then there to tell them that supper with your colleagues or even taking the team away is always a nice experience for team building, but it won't fix your trust issues unless you deliberately facilitate dialogues between members to get to the root cause of the (mis)trust aspects. In scenarios like these, and based on my neuro-linguistic and coaching training I know that the worst thing you can ask such a team is “Why”. Instead, we should be asking the What, When, Where and How questions around trust to really get to the components of trust.
Now that is a powerful mechanism!
In conclusion, "Teams that Work" by Eduardo Salas and Scott Tannenbaum offers compelling insights into the essential role of trust in team dynamics. The authors provide robust scientific evidence showing that trust is not merely a nicety but a critical business imperative directly affecting performance and outcomes. Trust among team members, beyond just trust in leadership, significantly enhances performance, particularly in interdependent and virtual teams. By understanding and cultivating trust through behaviours and principles of capability, benevolence, and integrity, leaders and team members can create more cohesive, effective teams. Addressing and building trust requires deliberate effort, including self-awareness, keeping commitments, and fostering open communication. Through my own experience in strategic facilitation, I have seen firsthand how addressing trust issues can transform team dynamics, making trust a pivotal element for success in any team environment.
Re: Tannenbaum, S., & Salas, E. (2021). Teams that work: The seven drivers of team effectiveness.