Building a climate of trust

15Sep09

“Trust is the cornerstone in a successful team"

Author and team expert Fran Rees said, “Trust is the cornerstone in a successful team.”  Without trust there can be no true teamwork.  Any organization or team must operate on the foundation of trust.  Without trust, everything else falters. You become individuals doing a job, not a team doing a work.  Trust absolutely must be the core of your team or your work as a team will suffer. However, it is not easy to develop or maintain a climate of trust.  It takes a lot of work to build it and even more work to keep it.

You gain trust and become trusted by others, by being trustworthy.  Throughout the life span of any team there is what I call the “moments of trust.”  These are the times when you have an opportunity to build up or tear down the trust among one another.

For example…

Do you promise more then you deliver?
Do you ask for more than you are willing to do yourself?
Do you “sugar coat” problems or tell half-truths?
Do you stand with your team when there are problems?
Do you “pitch in” during times of excessive work?
Do you desire for the other team members to win?
Do you complain to others on the team about the team?
Do you complain to outsiders about the team?
Do you continually show up late to appointments?
Do you have a problem “following through”?

These are hard questions to ponder, but if you will answer them honestly, it may reveal something about you.  You may find out that your climate of trust is not as strong as you would like to think.  If this is the case, it is imperative that you begin rebuilding the trust among the team.  Your personal success and the success of the team is counting on it.

Remember the following principles and you will be on your way to building a climate of trust…

1)Do what you say you’re going to do
2)Be a team player, believing and desiring the best for every individual
3)Be on time
4)Be honest and forthright
5)Finish projects that you start (on time and with excellence)
6)Don’t break appointments (especially if you set them)
7)Work a full day (don’t cheat the organization by continually skipping out early)

These are just a few suggestions to help you build that climate of trust.  If you are a leader or a part of a team, you will find that your foundation for personal excellence and achievement will be built on your ability to create a climate of trust.

Until next time,

Chris Sonksen

QUOTE OF THE DAY:

“The opinions which we hold of one another…are in
no sense permanent…but are as eternally fluid as the sea itself.”
Marcel Proust

Filed under: Habits, Leadership, Personal Growth, Team   |  1 Comment
Tags: Personal Growth, personal relationships, team building, team player, Techniques of effective leaders, trust