Trust – it means relying on your teammate to do what they said they were going to do. Well, there wouldn’t be a huge project management industry if everyone did what they said they were going to do. Sports teams wouldn’t practice for 1000’s of hours if it was easy to create trust.
Trust is crucial in a marriage, required (but repairable) in a friendship, but it’s really non-existent in the office. Look over at your team mate – do you trust them with your job? Would they trust you with their job? At best, we trust but verify – that really means we don’t trust at all. Quite frankly, there’s too much riding on the task/project/effort – your next performance review, your raise, your promotion. Everyone has their own agenda and without clear communication, each person creates their own priorities out of the tasks in front of them. Don’t even get me started on the trust fall….
Let’s focus instead on how we interact with each other. Let’s focus on improving our communication skills – upward, downward and lateral. Let’s focus on asking for what we need out of our systems instead of being stuck with ‘it’s what we always do’. Let’s focus on expectations and processes – are they appropriate? Speak up if they’re not so you can figure out solutions collaboratively.
Trust is created slowly and only through intention. Truly great teams have earned the trust between them – be that team! Or ask how you can become one!
karenwiley@appliedteamdynamics.com
Making the Impossible Feasible, then Successful
Applied Team Dynamics, LLC 