Article
Developing Trust on Your Team
September 7, 2020
A Lack of Trust Can Destroy Your Team
What You Can Do To Develop an Atmosphere of Trust on Your Team
Trust is a central component of all healthy relationships. Teams are no exception. “There’s no team without trust,” said Paul Santagata, Head of Industry for Retail/Tech/Telecom at Google. “In Google’s fast-paced, highly demanding environment, our success hinges on the ability to take risks and be vulnerable in front of peers.” [“High-Performing Teams Need Psychological Safety. Here’s How to Create it” by Laura Delizonna, Harvard Business Review August 24, 2017] The leader must facilitate trust and be a model of trust. This means creating a team environment characterized by open, candid relationships and a climate of psychological safety.
“As a company grows, communication becomes its biggest challenge. If the employees fundamentally trust the CEO, then communication will be vastly more efficient than if they don’t. . . A CEO’s ability to build this trust over time is often the difference between companies that execute well and companies that are chaotic.” – Ben Horowitz (quoted in https://www.zenefits.com/workest/ben-horowitz-culture-leadership-succeeding/)
It is a sad fact of my long experience working with entrepreneurs that many of them do not trust people easily, and this sets the tone for the way they manage their teams and how team members, in turn, manage their teams. When you don’t trust someone, if you feel they lack competence, skill, or experience or you question their good will and good intentions, you are more likely to try to control or micromanage them. This can severely damage a team’s effectiveness.
A lack of trust and a climate of fear on the team is the opposite of psychological safety. It is toxic and can result not merely in an uncomfortable workplace and a lack of openness, but also in finger-pointing and conflicts between team members, politics, false consensus leading to bad decisions, and ultimately in turnover. It will curtail collaboration, weaken problem solving, hamper individual and group performance and diminish results.
The more interdependent the team – the more team members are dependent on each other to get their work done – the more trust matters. This can be particularly relevant for startups where the number of people involved is small and collaboration is especially vital. For example, Engineers can’t build anything unless the Product team defines what customers want, what features they care about, and Product can’t really do that without coordination with the Marketing team. All these relationships rely on trust: that information is being openly shared, that people are telling the truth, giving honest feedback, working through differences and collaborating and working together to meet commitments. When there is good will and psychological safety on a team, members will be willing to be vulnerable and openly discuss their problems, opinions, and concerns. In addition, trust also increases the commitment and loyalty between team members, which reduces unwanted turnover, and increases a sense of common identity.
How Trust Grows
Trust builds slowly, over time. It is built in very small moments but can be destroyed in an instant. If team members have shared important experiences and been successful working together, or have endured difficult times and made it through to the other side, trust will naturally increase.
Trust grows when there is openness, information sharing, honesty, and the ability to voice differences and work together through conflict. As Google’s Project Aristotle on effective teamwork has found, members must feel free enough to share their opinions without fear of recrimination or attack. As a New York Times article said, “ We must be able to talk about what is messy or sad, to have hard conversations with colleagues who are driving us crazy. We can’t be focused just on efficiency.”
Growth of trust also requires regular interaction between members, listening and respecting each other’s ideas. This too takes time, and it means that you, as the leader, need to look for opportunities to increase the level of interaction and collaboration between members of the team. If team members operate in silos or have more frequent communication with the leader than with each other, the team will be less effective.
This can be especially challenging with remote team members. Videoconferences between team members in another country or city, or just in another building or domain, have become commonplace and the leader must pay close attention to bringing team members together in person whenever possible. Where that is not an option, the leader needs to be very deliberate about insuring active participation from all team members rather than allowing in-person members to dominate the discussion.
Does Your Team Trust You?
Leaders are often unaware of how much – or how little – team members are on board with the leader’s strategy, goals, and plans. Even worse, they often assume they have the team’s trust, when that is not always the case. Here are some ways to tell if your team trusts you:
These are all signs that you have done a good job in creating an atmosphere of safety and trust.
What Happens When Trust Is Strong? A recent meta-analysis of 112 research studies confirmed that trust between team members is highly correlated with the achievement of team goals. When trust is present, problem solving tends to be creative and productive. Discussions are livelier and out-of-the-box solutions get put on the table when fear of self-expression is absent. Members willingly take greater risks and say what is on their minds directly rather than behind others’ backs.
Trust has a similarly powerful impact on decision-making. The best decisions are made when the best thinking and all the facts are put on the table. When team members feel safe and expect that others will behave in a supportive and positive manner, they will be more willing to be vulnerable and open. They will work more collaboratively and stay more focused on team goals.
What Happens When Trust Is Weak? When trust is not strong, people are unwilling to share their real opinions and concerns. In that case, you are not getting the best thinking out of them. Often this lack of trust is due to the leader, who may have created an intimidating environment or failed to police bad behavior among members, such as personal attacks. In that environment, people are unwilling to share intuitive insights or half-formed ideas.
Problem solving tends to degenerate and become ineffective. Interpersonal relationships among team members interfere with and distort perception of the problem. That’s because, in the absence of trust, people’s energy and creativity are more focused on self-protection than on finding creative solutions. They feel the need to protect themselves from attack, humiliation, or retribution, rather than apply their energy and attention to problem solving and may withhold half-formed ideas that may contain the seed of a solution.
In the absence of trust, team members are more suspicious of others’ motivations, and become defensive. Openness is reduced, and people don’t say what they really think. Team members lose sight of team goals and focus on personal self-interest.
How to Build Team Trust
Trust is a central component of all healthy relationships. Teams are no exception. “There’s no team without trust,” said Paul Santagata, Head of Industry for Retail/Tech/Telecom at Google. “In Google’s fast-paced, highly demanding environment, our success hinges on the ability to take risks and be vulnerable in front of peers.” [“High-Performing Teams Need Psychological Safety. Here’s How to Create it” by Laura Delizonna, Harvard Business Review August 24, 2017] The leader must facilitate trust and be a model of trust. This means creating a team environment characterized by open, candid relationships and a climate of psychological safety.
“As a company grows, communication becomes its biggest challenge. If the employees fundamentally trust the CEO, then communication will be vastly more efficient than if they don’t. . . A CEO’s ability to build this trust over time is often the difference between companies that execute well and companies that are chaotic.” – Ben Horowitz (quoted in https://www.zenefits.com/workest/ben-horowitz-culture-leadership-succeeding/)
It is a sad fact of my long experience working with entrepreneurs that many of them do not trust people easily, and this sets the tone for the way they manage their teams and how team members, in turn, manage their teams. When you don’t trust someone, if you feel they lack competence, skill, or experience or you question their good will and good intentions, you are more likely to try to control or micromanage them. This can severely damage a team’s effectiveness.
A lack of trust and a climate of fear on the team is the opposite of psychological safety. It is toxic and can result not merely in an uncomfortable workplace and a lack of openness, but also in finger-pointing and conflicts between team members, politics, false consensus leading to bad decisions, and ultimately in turnover. It will curtail collaboration, weaken problem solving, hamper individual and group performance and diminish results.
The more interdependent the team – the more team members are dependent on each other to get their work done – the more trust matters. This can be particularly relevant for startups where the number of people involved is small and collaboration is especially vital. For example, Engineers can’t build anything unless the Product team defines what customers want, what features they care about, and Product can’t really do that without coordination with the Marketing team. All these relationships rely on trust: that information is being openly shared, that people are telling the truth, giving honest feedback, working through differences and collaborating and working together to meet commitments. When there is good will and psychological safety on a team, members will be willing to be vulnerable and openly discuss their problems, opinions, and concerns. In addition, trust also increases the commitment and loyalty between team members, which reduces unwanted turnover, and increases a sense of common identity.
How Trust Grows
Trust builds slowly, over time. It is built in very small moments but can be destroyed in an instant. If team members have shared important experiences and been successful working together, or have endured difficult times and made it through to the other side, trust will naturally increase.
Trust grows when there is openness, information sharing, honesty, and the ability to voice differences and work together through conflict. As Google’s Project Aristotle on effective teamwork has found, members must feel free enough to share their opinions without fear of recrimination or attack. As a New York Times article said, “ We must be able to talk about what is messy or sad, to have hard conversations with colleagues who are driving us crazy. We can’t be focused just on efficiency.”
Growth of trust also requires regular interaction between members, listening and respecting each other’s ideas. This too takes time, and it means that you, as the leader, need to look for opportunities to increase the level of interaction and collaboration between members of the team. If team members operate in silos or have more frequent communication with the leader than with each other, the team will be less effective.
This can be especially challenging with remote team members. Videoconferences between team members in another country or city, or just in another building or domain, have become commonplace and the leader must pay close attention to bringing team members together in person whenever possible. Where that is not an option, the leader needs to be very deliberate about insuring active participation from all team members rather than allowing in-person members to dominate the discussion.
Does Your Team Trust You?
Leaders are often unaware of how much – or how little – team members are on board with the leader’s strategy, goals, and plans. Even worse, they often assume they have the team’s trust, when that is not always the case. Here are some ways to tell if your team trusts you:
- Team members sometimes take a different view from yours, and express it freely.
- Team members keep you informed of their progress. They are comfortable coming to you for help or suggestions if they get stuck.
- Team members appear comfortable admitting mistakes, and are willing to discuss their problems rather than hiding or minimizing them, or concealing them in fancy PowerPoints.
- Team members approach you when they have a non-work problem, to request time off or support.
- Team members are not obviously defensive or over-critical about statements you make.
- Team meetings are relatively open and there is wide participation, with everyone making a contribution.
- Team members speak up – often privately – if they have a problem with one of your decisions or your behavior and are prepared to discuss their concerns.
- There does not appear to be excessive gossip in the team.
These are all signs that you have done a good job in creating an atmosphere of safety and trust.
What Happens When Trust Is Strong? A recent meta-analysis of 112 research studies confirmed that trust between team members is highly correlated with the achievement of team goals. When trust is present, problem solving tends to be creative and productive. Discussions are livelier and out-of-the-box solutions get put on the table when fear of self-expression is absent. Members willingly take greater risks and say what is on their minds directly rather than behind others’ backs.
Trust has a similarly powerful impact on decision-making. The best decisions are made when the best thinking and all the facts are put on the table. When team members feel safe and expect that others will behave in a supportive and positive manner, they will be more willing to be vulnerable and open. They will work more collaboratively and stay more focused on team goals.
What Happens When Trust Is Weak? When trust is not strong, people are unwilling to share their real opinions and concerns. In that case, you are not getting the best thinking out of them. Often this lack of trust is due to the leader, who may have created an intimidating environment or failed to police bad behavior among members, such as personal attacks. In that environment, people are unwilling to share intuitive insights or half-formed ideas.
Problem solving tends to degenerate and become ineffective. Interpersonal relationships among team members interfere with and distort perception of the problem. That’s because, in the absence of trust, people’s energy and creativity are more focused on self-protection than on finding creative solutions. They feel the need to protect themselves from attack, humiliation, or retribution, rather than apply their energy and attention to problem solving and may withhold half-formed ideas that may contain the seed of a solution.
In the absence of trust, team members are more suspicious of others’ motivations, and become defensive. Openness is reduced, and people don’t say what they really think. Team members lose sight of team goals and focus on personal self-interest.
How to Build Team Trust
- Be honest with team members. Don’t spin things. If you distort the truth or outright lie, team members won’t trust you. Tell them the truth rather than what you think they want to hear. A leader must establish and maintain high standards of personal integrity.
- Show team members that you care about them as people rather than merely as units of production. Organizations and teams are not machines. Results are important but excessive focus on hitting goals and deadlines or improving performance and quality can give the message that you only see team members as means to an end. Create opportunities to socialize with them in informal settings such as team dinners and avoid too much focus on business issues at that time.
- Be proactive in building relationships. Listen to individual team members and get to know them and their concerns. Check in with them regularly to find out how things are going in their world and how they are feeling about events, projects, problems etc. It is easy for a busy team leader to become isolated and insulated from the problems and concerns of employees. If you are too distant from team members and don’t invest in getting to know them and what is important to them, they will be less likely to trust you. Leaders who show interest in the needs and challenges of the employees they manage set a positive tone on the team. Employees who feel valued and supported are more likely to be motivated to get results.
- Occasionally survey the team to take its temperature, particularly around trust levels and morale. Then discuss any barriers to teamwork that are surfaced by the results.
- Don’t withhold information. Leaders often worry that openly sharing sensitive information about financial results, decisions, or developments could cause problems. Whenever possible, eliminate secrets. Provide team members with both information they need, and information they want. Many leaders justify withholding information by saying, “I provide information on a need-to-know basis.” This reflects a lack of trust and need for control. Obviously, not all information can be shared. But ask team members what information they are not getting that they want and need. When possible, let them know about plans, developments, opportunities, challenges, and priorities. Sharing information makes people feel more like partners, and in the absence of information, rumors and speculation about worst-case scenarios proliferate.
- Explain the rationale behind your decisions. Give team members the context they need to understand why you made a decision and use it as an opportunity to teach and explain your thought process and the factors that they need to consider in making similar decisions. This is an opportunity to develop new leaders. Don’t be too quick to take responsibility for “important” problems. Let other team members own the analysis, the plan, and as much of the action as possible. Learn to empower team members as they demonstrate competence and good judgment. This demonstrates trust.
- Don’t micromanage. It suggests that you don’t believe that people will get things done without close monitoring and control, and that you don’t trust their judgment or capabilities. If you want to develop the trust of others, you must demonstrate trust in them.
- Put the good of the team and the organization ahead of your own self-interest. Leaders who are fixated on their reputation, financial rewards, and personal recognition are quickly distrusted by their team.
- Keep your commitments to team members and the team as a whole. If you don’t follow through on your promises, they will question if you will really do what you say you will do. If you don’t meet your commitments, you will send a message that others don’t need to meet theirs. Lack of consistency and dependability will destroy trust.
- Avoid blaming team members for mistakes, particularly in front of others. Create a norm around learning from mistakes. Effective team leaders take a little more than their share of the blame and go out of their way to give others the credit for achievements.
- Be human. Be open about your own mistakes and weaknesses and you will create space for others to be open about their shortcomings and problems. Don’t communicate in a formal, overly business-like manner that hides your humanity and accessibility. Be genuine and real.
- Monitor your own behavior and pay attention to the impact of your words and actions. Leaders who fail to treat team members with respect, consideration and sensitivity can destroy trust quickly. Trust takes a long time to develop but can be broken quickly.
- Don’t play favorites. When you reward your friends and fail to confront their substandard performance, it undermines trust and increases politics. Treat all team members fairly and consistently.
- Walk your talk. Be vigilant that your behavior is consistent with your stated beliefs and values. When the leader doesn’t behave in accord with the organization’s values and the team’s rules of the road, trust and credibility will be destroyed.
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Let's be brutally honest. In the cutthroat world of modern business, we obsess over metrics, strategies, and market share. We chase innovation, efficiency, and the next big disruption. But what if I told you that the single most powerful, yet often overlooked, asset in your leadership arsenal isn't a new technology or a groundbreaking business model, but something far more fundamental? It's trust . Research reveals that trust isn't just a "nice-to-have" soft skill; it's the bedrock of every high-performing team, the fuel for innovation, and the hidden engine of organizational success. Ignore it at your peril, because the cost of low trust isn't just a dip in morale—it's a direct hit to your bottom line, your talent pipeline, and your legacy as a leader. The Uncomfortable Truth: Trust is Your Most Valuable Capital Think of trust not as an abstract concept, but as tangible capital for your organization. It’s the "first step of genuine and effective leadership". Without it, people simply won't follow you. This isn't hyperbole; it's a stark reality backed by compelling data. Companies with high trust factors report staggering benefits: 74% less stress, 13% fewer sick days, and a remarkable 40% less burnout among employees compared to their low-trust counterparts. This translates directly into reduced operational costs and a healthier, more engaged workforce. Employees in high-trust organizations are also 50% more likely to stay with their employer long-term, drastically cutting turnover costs and retaining invaluable talent. Beyond retention, trust ignites collaboration. When your team trusts each other and you, they share ideas freely, seek help without hesitation, and work cohesively towards shared goals. This isn't just about being "nice"; it leads to more innovative solutions, superior problem-solving, and a cohesive, high-performing workforce. Google's own Project Aristotle, a deep dive into team effectiveness, concluded that high-performing teams are simply impossible without trust. It is the very bedrock for open communication and innovation. A high-trust environment also minimizes micromanagement, granting employees the autonomy and confidence to make decisions and focus on meaningful work, boosting productivity and efficiency. And the ripple effect extends outward: employees who feel trusted and respected internally are far more likely to deliver exceptional customer service, enhancing brand loyalty and driving business growth. So, if trust is so powerful, why do so many leaders struggle with it? The Three Non-Negotiable Pillars: Where Leaders Often Stumble Research has identified three fundamental pillars of trustworthiness: Ability, Integrity, and Benevolence . Here's the critical, often misunderstood, part: trustworthiness is a product of these three, not a sum. This means if you score a zero in any one of these areas, your overall trustworthiness plummets to zero, regardless of how stellar you are in the others. Let that sink in. You can be a brilliant strategist (high Ability), but if your team perceives you as dishonest (zero Integrity), your trust account is empty. You can be the most ethical person in the room (high Integrity), but if you consistently fail to deliver on promises (zero Ability), trust evaporates. And perhaps the most insidious blind spot for many leaders: you can be competent and honest, but if you lack genuine care and kindness for your team (zero Benevolence), you will not be trusted. Let's break them down: Ability: This is your professional competence – your skills, knowledge, and, most importantly, your consistent delivery on promises. As one CEO put it, "Trustworthiness is about doing what it says on the tin". If you say you'll do something, do it. Period. Integrity: This is "walking the talk." It's about being reliable in your behaviors, consistently upholding your values, and demonstrating honesty, openness, and fairness. Even a minor ethical slip from years ago can permanently damage a leader's perceived integrity. Benevolence: This is the genuine concern for the well-being of others – care, generosity, and kindness. The most potent destroyer of trust is the perception that you're acting solely in your own self-interest. Leaders who publicly humiliate or criticize team members, even if they are otherwise capable, will struggle to build trust due to a glaring lack of benevolence. It’s time to "re-humanize the workplace". The Blueprint for Building Unshakeable Trust Building trust is a deliberate, ongoing process. It requires conscious effort and consistent action. Here's how leaders who truly get it cultivate high-trust environments: Be Authentically Transparent and Accountable: Authenticity is the very foundation of trust. Be open about your intentions, share insights into decision-making, and, crucially, admit your mistakes. When you own your fallibilities, you create a psychologically safe environment where others feel safe to do the same. This vulnerability, counter-intuitively, builds immense trust. Practice Radical Empathy and Active Listening: Empathetic leaders genuinely value their employees' needs and desires. Respect is the "cornerstone of trust". This means not just hearing, but actively listening – giving full attention, asking clarifying questions, paraphrasing to confirm understanding, and empathizing with their feelings. It signals genuine value for their input and builds a deeper connection. Be a Beacon of Consistency and Reliability: Consistency is paramount, especially when paired with empathy. Your actions must consistently match your words. Reliability is, in fact, the top trust-building factor identified by business leaders, with 90% considering it important. When your team knows what to expect from you, uncertainty diminishes, and trust flourishes. Cultivate Mindfulness and Self-Awareness: This isn't just a wellness trend; it's a leadership imperative. Mindfulness enhances your cognitive capacity, flexibility, and ability to "re-perceive" situations objectively. It improves self-awareness and self-regulation, ensuring your actions align with your values, not just automatic reactions. A mindful leader is better equipped to exhibit all the behaviors necessary for building trust. Champion Fairness and Resolve Conflict: Leaders who fairly distribute rewards, maintain transparency, and enforce unbiased policies build trust. Addressing fears and resolving conflicts quickly and fairly strengthens team trust, enhancing collaboration and engagement. The Silent Sabotage: How Leaders Accidentally Destroy Trust Now for the uncomfortable part. Many leaders, often with good intentions, inadvertently erode trust through subtle behaviors that chip away at the foundation. These aren't always malicious acts, but rather blind spots that have devastating consequences: Inconsistent Actions and Unkept Commitments: You say one thing but do another. You make promises, even small ones, and fail to follow through. This gap between words and deeds is a trust killer, making teams feel unheard and disengaged. Lack of Transparency and Disengagement: You sideline key stakeholders in decisions, offer inconsistent messaging, or simply become physically or emotionally unavailable. This signals a profound lack of investment and erodes confidence, often without you even realizing the impact. Micromanagement and Disrespect for Time: You constantly hover, dictate every detail, or retract delegated tasks. This screams, "I don't trust you to do your job," leading to a reciprocal loss of trust. Similarly, frequent reschedules, unreturned messages, or unnecessary meetings signal that your team's time isn't valued, breeding resentment. Unethical Behavior and Compromising Values: Even a seemingly minor ethical lapse can permanently damage your integrity. When you compromise the organization's core values, your team notices, and their trust in your leadership crumbles. Ignoring Performance Issues: When a team member isn't pulling their weight or is negatively impacting the team, and you "look the other way," it demoralizes everyone else. It signals a lack of fairness and accountability, eroding trust in your leadership. Displaying Superiority or Losing Composure: Acting superior, undervaluing team perspectives, or losing your temper in communications makes employees feel disrespected and unheard. The "One-Size-Fits-All" Fallacy: Applying a uniform leadership style to diverse, multicultural teams can be perceived as autocratic and lead to a significant loss of trust, as it ignores crucial cultural nuances. Expecting Others to Earn Your Trust Without Reciprocating: You demand trust from your team, but you don't extend it first. Healthy relationships, including professional ones, are never one-sided. The Passive "My Door Is Always Open": Simply saying "my door is always open" is not enough. If you don't actively seek input, schedule check-ins, and create safe spaces for dialogue, many voices will remain unheard, and trust will not grow. The Devastating Fallout: What Happens When Trust Dies The consequences of low trust are not theoretical; they are devastatingly real: Disengagement and High Turnover: Energy and enthusiasm drain away. Individuals feel undervalued, leading to high turnover rates, decreased productivity, and widespread dissatisfaction. Friction and Unresolved Conflict: Without trust, conflicts escalate. Teams avoid addressing issues, engage in "polite nodding" without genuine agreement, or resort to passive-aggressive behaviors and gossip, creating a toxic atmosphere. Stifled Innovation: The fear of rejection or ridicule suppresses creativity. Teams hesitate to propose new ideas or challenge the status quo, leaving the organization stagnant and vulnerable to competitors. Lack of Feedback and Misunderstandings: Team members are reluctant to give or seek feedback, fearing judgment or repercussions. This means valuable insights go unshared, and opportunities for growth are missed. Negative assumptions about intentions lead to strained relationships and a focus on self-protection over collaboration. Low Confidence and Indecision: Individuals second-guess their abilities, doubt decisions, and hesitate to take risks, further stifling creativity and progress. Your Call to Action: Reclaim Your Superpower Trust is not built overnight, nor is it maintained passively. It requires consistent, deliberate effort. If trust has been eroded, it can be rebuilt, but it demands honesty, humility, and sustained action. Acknowledge your missteps, own them, and commit to consistent behaviors that prove your reliability over time. Re-engage with your team, prioritize benevolence, and shift from demanding trust to actively earning it. In today's complex and rapidly changing world, trust is not just a competitive advantage; it's a prerequisite for survival. Leaders who master the art and science of building and sustaining trust will not only foster more engaged, innovative, and productive teams but will also forge a legacy of true, impactful leadership. Are you ready to unlock your ultimate leadership superpower? The choice, and the action, is yours.
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