Highly Effective Teams Have a High Trust Level Part 3 of 6

Team Trust is the most important step in building a highly effective team. Below, we cover 7 expert ways to build trust in your team. This is part three of a six-part series on the Five Characteristics of High-Performing Teams. In each of the sessions, we will cover one of the component steps to creating a team culture.

In the first part, we gave an overview of each of the five steps to creating a highly effective team. Then, last week, we covered the value of creating a great vision and mission for your company. Here is a review of this employee engagement process.

Five-Step Process to Build a Culture of Teamwork in Your Organization and Improve Team Success.

The five-step leadership development process is as follows.

1. Highly Effective Teams are Mission-Oriented.
2. Build Trust and Rapport with the People that You Want to Lead.
3. Resolve Conflicts and Create an Environment Where Disagreements Do Not Cause Personal Conflicts.
4. Gain Enthusiastic Cooperation from Your Team (Even When You Are Not Looking).
5. Build Confident Leadership Teams Around You.

Each of these steps is progressive. For instance, if we have a lack of trust within a group of individuals, we will likely have more conflicts. If we are in conflict with our team members, it will be difficult to gain cooperation. The point is that the better we do in the early stages, the easier it is to have success in the latter stages. In this session, we will focus on Step #2: The Seven Best Ways to Build Team Trust.

How to Build a Culture of Trust in Your Team. 7 Expert Ways to Build Team Trust.

Think about the relationships that you have with others as being a checking account. Each person that you interact with has an entirely different account. When we have positive interactions with a person, we make deposits into that account and improve our level of trust with that person.

However, when something negative occurs or there is a conflict, a withdrawal is made. So, if you want to build trust in a team, you as the leader have to make a tremendous number of deposits into the accounts of each team member. However, if you make withdrawals, you and your team are likely to have trust issues.

Below are seven key ways to build mutual trust within a team. We suggest that you spend a week focusing on a single principle every day. Don’t go to bed each day before you apply the principle for that day. By the end of the week, you should already begin to see significant changes in the rapport that you have with others.

By using these principles consistently, you will create open communication and improve workplace trust.

1. Avoid Criticizing Your Team.
2. Look at Things from the Other Person’s Point of View.
3. Smile More. (It Makes You More Approachable and Friendly.)
4. Make an Effort to Remember Names.
5. Avoid Placing the Burdens of Your Problems onto Your Team’s Shoulders.
6. Take Responsibility for Clear Communication.
7. Practice Good Listening Skills.

Show Notes: Highly Effective Teams Have a High Trust Level