Five Ways that Team Members Build Trust with Each Other

In the previous post we found out about "The Five Dysfunctions of a Team"
And this post will tell us how to deal with the basic dysfunction: Absence of Trust. Esther Derby (Management coach, consultant and author), in her article, shows us the ways to Build Trust in a team.


1. Address issues directly - give feedback to the guilty person, not to his friend.

2. Share Relevant Information - if you don't support an idea or approach, say so.

3. Follow Through on Commitments or Give Early Notice When You Can't - if something went wrong, and you can't deliver on time, update the person immediately, otherwise it will break trust.

4. Say No When You Mean No - say No When You Mean No :)

5. Show What You Know and What You Don't Know - admit when you don't know the answers; there's nothing worse than a know-it-all who is wrong. Ask for help. That helps other see you as a real person, and people generally like to be helpful.

SUMMARY:
What we need in the workplace is professional trust. Professional trust says, I trust that you are competent to do the work, that you'll share relevant information, and that you have good intentions towards the team. Taken broadly, that's trust about communication, commitment, and competence.