The pathway to building trust is not always straight and the level and kind of trust is not always clear. Trust is the corner stone of effective teams, but nobody seems to know how to build it intentionally. You know when you don’t have it and usually know what happened to erode trust.
You can solve this problem before it becomes a problem with three simple questions. Before I tell you what they are I’ll tell you why this will work.
When these kinds of conversations become OK to have, you’ve effectively given your team permission to talk about the tough issues. This is the most important piece of the trust building puzzle… permission.
Ask these three simple questions to your team. One on one is best and then take it into a team setting. You’ll be surprised that people will tell you how they act BEFORE there’s a problem and in doing so, you’ll find out what’s important to them to build team trust. Here are the three questions.
- How do you act in trusting relationships?
- What do you need from me to build and maintain trust?
- How will you act when your level of trust drops?
If you listen well, everything you need to know about building trust with your team will be revealed to you.
Take good notes and respond accordingly.
In the next blog you’ll learn how to blow up your team and destroy trust. It’s much easier to erode trust than to build it. Understanding 4 common mistakes that team leaders make, will help you do the opposite.
Stop Guessing 