As a coach, I’ve helped clients navigate challenging team cultures. Frequently it involves situations that came about because the team environment changed. A common element of these difficult experiences was a lack of trust in either leadership, management or the team itself.
These clients were members of high-functioning and self-accountable groups that valued individuality as well as team success. Then suddenly, the dynamics shifted—a leader leaves, new members are added to the group, executives change priorities—something unexpected happened to break the group’s trust.
Successful leaders recognize that trust is essential to maintain, especially during times of transition. When a team’s dynamics shift and members, as well as leaders, are unable to adapt, the results can compound. Individual members may become dissatisfied, shared goals dissolve, trust deteriorates, and the team’s functionality experiences a sharp decline.
What is a Team
Not every group is a team. There are different ways to view a team: an entire department, division or organization; a taskforce, job skill group or volunteer consortium. The important characteristic of a team is a collective commitment to a specific outcome and shared accountability to achieve the goal. However, too large of a group risks becoming fragmented into smaller teams.
“The best teams invest a tremendous amount of time and effort exploring, shaping, and agreeing on a purpose that belongs to them both collectively and individually. This “purposing” activity continues throughout the life of the team. By contrast, failed teams rarely develop a common purpose. For whatever reason—an insufficient focus on performance, lack of effort, poor leadership—they do not coalesce around a challenging aspiration.”
– Harvard Business Review Magazine July-August 2005
Understanding your team and how they interact will help create a strong team culture. At the core of an effective team lies trust. A culture founded on trust will promote workplace satisfaction, prevent attrition, and drive productivity and success for all members.
What is Trust
Merriam-Webster Dictionary, est. 1828, defines trust as follows:
(noun) a. assured reliance on the character, ability, strength, or truth of someone or something; b. one in which confidence is placed
(verb) a. to rely on the truthfulness or accuracy of: believe; b. to place confidence in: rely on
Whether used as a noun or a verb, trust for a thriving team can be summarized as: the space nurtured, reinforced and preserved between people and situations that provides for a state of existence in unity.
A culture rooted in trust allows agreements and disagreements to coincide. It allows a framework that pairs team members toward a common objective while recognizing individuality. A team with a high-trust quotient minimizes fear-based thinking and opportunistic decision making.
What Does Trust Look Like in Team Culture
The team environment is impacted by the belief and reliance on each member in the workplace and the dynamics of member interactions. Below are critical elements for trust-based functionality of a group.
- The team has a collective and worthwhile purpose
- Team rules of conduct exist to facilitate constructive engagement
- Self-accountability lives alongside project expectations
- Information is shared to foster understanding and direct decision making
- Productive feedback is actively encouraged
- Individual’s ideas are credited appropriately
- Quiet team members have equal voice as the outspoken ones
How Leadership Can Reinforce Trust in a Team
Leaders play a significant role in team trust. Their responsibility is to clarify organizational values. They serve as the conduit for deeper understanding and provide importance to the regular tasks that need to be performed for team and organizational success.
How a leader shows up in their role and their interactions with the team is a major indicator of reinforcing a trust environment. Leadership credibility is not based on singular events but instead upon repeat scenarios and actions.
What About Your Team
Strong team culture is continually learning and growing together.
Are you prepared to look at your team and invest in a deeper understanding of their environment to foster greater trust?
Where does trust show up in your team’s work?
How does your team culture contribute to success in your organization?
I’d love to hear your thoughts or if you have other examples, please share! You can message me on LinkedIn or via email at shawn.smith546@outlook.com
