Building Trust in Teams — Why It’s Important & How It’s Done

“The glue that holds all relationships together — including the relationship between the leader and the led — is trust, and trust is based on integrity.”- Brian Tracy

No matter how much we debate — the above phrase stands correct in every Workplace environment.

A professional relationship is like any other relationship in the world. And what’s that one thing that holds a relationship together? The answer is TRUST.

Have you ever seen a team working without trusting each other? If yes, then you already know what a nightmare it is. A team without trust is not a team. It’s just a group of people who are working together for the sake of the company and often ending up with disappointing results. However, when there is trust, a team is stronger and each team member is working effectively on their part to achieve something meaningful.

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In this post, we will uncover facts and details that will help you better understand the importance of building trust in a team and what are the best ways to do that.

Let’s get started!

How do you define TRUST in the workplace?

Before we get deep down into the concept, let’s consider this: you’ve been assigned the task of monitoring the performance of two teams. You can call them Team A and Team B. Everything about the two teams is almost the same, except one — Team A has some serious trust issues. Where Team B is smoothly progressing through each stage in a project, members of the other team i.e. Team A are still battling over their roles and responsibilities.

Despite all the conflicts, Team A is somehow managing to deliver projects right on time, just like Team B. Now, who do you think is delivering the desired quality in projects?

Obviously, it’s Team B — The team that trusts each other enough to succeed.

The above example shows us what the word trust stands for in the workplace. It simply means that the members of the team are willing to rely on each other to do the right thing, take accountability as a team, and most importantly, have each other’s back when things don’t go as planned.

Why is building trust important?

Still, need a reason to accept trust as an integral part of the workspace, we’ll give you four. Below, we’ve boiled down the key benefits that a team or an organization gets when people begin to trust each other to get work done.

• Innovation
• Collaboration
• Creative thinking
• Productivity

How do you build and maintain trust in teams?

Poor performance, high turnover, stress, lack of commitment, or burnout, every problem that a modern Business might face today springs from the same root cause. Most businesses and teams today are falling victim to the same workplace problem — there is too much fear and too little trust between teams.

If you’re a project manager who wants to see his business and business teams succeed, you need to make some quick changes in your workplace. Below, we’ve listed some popular tips and tricks that have worked well for business and teams across the globe. Now, even if you’re a member of a team and you believe that there are trust issues between your team members, do suggest these tips to your superiors so that they can do what’s best for everyone.

5 Ways To Build Trust In The Workplace

1. Keep communication and information sharing honest

Keeping communication straightforward and honest is vital to business success. But it takes work — a lot of work. When a group of individuals (team members as well as clients) come together to work towards a common goal, it is necessary that they trust each other with every important and unimportant piece of information.

They should be a part of a clear and transparent communication system where the same information or update is shared with everyone. For added effectiveness, consider taking advantage of the available project management software and team collaboration apps.

2. Ask everyone to be open for innovative ideas and constructive feedbacks

An idea should never be dismissed. No matter whether the idea is good or bad, everyone deserves to be heard — particularly in the workplace environment. This is why it is important that you create a culture where everyone’s ideas and suggestions are taken into consideration. Whether it’s about the project or about an individual’s performance, if someone has something constructive to share, let them.

3. Make people confident enough to stand up for what they believe in

Make team members confident enough to stand up for what they believe in. If someone in your team has a strong feeling about something or someone, make sure that they voice their opinion. Remember, people tend to trust those who share, not hide.

4. Create a culture where people follow through on the commitments they make

Failing to cope up with the Commitments you made is the easiest way to lose someone’s trust and respect. That’s why be sure that everyone in your team practices the habit of following through on the commitments they make.

Keep an eye on everyone’s progress and if someone is likely to fail to meet their commitments, take the necessary steps to avoid that from happening. Using tools like an online Gantt chart software or time tracking app can be a great help for you and your team in this case. They will make sure that everyone meets their commitments and no deadlines are missed.

5. Encourage people to learn from their mistakes instead of hiding them

Mistakes happen and they will happen again. The only way to you can move forward is by owning to mistakes and taking your lessons from them. Taking responsibility for your mistakes and planning well to ensure that the same mistakes don’t happen again in the future is a great way to foster trust between people.

Tell teams to make it a habit to discuss what they learned from every bad workplace experience. Doing this will help them ensure that the same situation won’t have the same result next time and they all will handle the situation better, together.

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Conclusion

Trust is the only thing that can keep incredible, effective individuals together in a team. And when a team is bonded with love, it is meant to work faster, more confidently, and bring more suitable results in any situation. In all, a team that trusts each other will succeed more gracefully. Now, if you are someone who is held accountable for bringing people together and fostering trust between them, putting the above tips into practice will help the way you want. And if things go wrong, you have ProofHub.

Do you like this post? If yes, then don’t forget to share it with your coworkers and clients.

If you liked reading this post, you are surely going to love this as well -

1. The Pomodoro Technique to Kick Your Productivity up a Notch
2. Time Management Tips to Reduce Stress and Boost Workplace Productivity
3. Agile Project Management — Best Agile Practices for Teams

Why It’s Important To Build Trust In Teams And How It’s Done was originally published in ProofHub Blog on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.